I mentioned this on my face book page earlier today. My dad is pretty sick right now. He's in the hospital and for the past week he's been in another world. Want a tv to watch? No. How about the radio? No. Well what if I brought you up some newspapers...maybe a book...what about a crossword puzzle? No...No...and...well you get the gist. It was sad to see him so sad.
Today he overheard someone mention the Masters. He asked if it was starting today. I told him it was and...Tiger Woods was playing. A few moments of silence and he said...you know maybe we should see about getting that television hooked up. There was a change. When the golf started you could see it in his eyes. He was thinking clearer, talking better and every time Tiger was on the screen he smiled. I haven't seen that smile in quite a while.
My dad and I would always talk sports when I was a kid. I'd tell him Bobby Orr or Wayne Gretzky were the best I ever saw play hockey. He'd tell me nope the best ever was Howie Morenz. Howie Morenz was a Montreal Canadien great who died far too young in his 30's. Howie Morenz was born and raised in Mitchell Ontario. Guess where my dad grew up? On a farm outside of Mitchell. You think he was being a homer with that one?
As an adult we would continue to talk sports although he'd complain that hockey was no good anymore. Too many teams...too many players he didn't know. He wanted to go back a 6 team NHL although I really think he started losing interest when they eliminated the "rover" position.
He would ask me once in a while about something I'd said on the radio but he wouldn't talk much about what I did for a living. I asked my mom about that and she said "he gets up at 5:30 every morning to listen to you....but don't tell him I told you.
My dad and I have never watched The Masters together...until today. I never thought it would be in a hospital room. It had a lot to do with Tiger Wood's comeback. Tiger had a pretty good day today...a 68 and 2 shots off the lead. You know what? My dad and I had a pretty good day today too. Tiger may not be the saint he used to be but for a few hours this afternoon he got his halo back.
Hi Rick,
I'm glad to hear that you were able to find something that helped your dad smile. I hope that your dad gets well soon, and he is able to come out of the hospital quickly.
I also enjoyed sitting down today being able to watch the game - I too was also happy to hear of Tiger's return, I am not happy about his behaviour but that is not for me to judge, I just enjoy watching him play golf. It would have been nice to sit down with my dad and watch the game, but hopefully this weekend, he will come to my house, visit with my twin daughters as we watch Tiger play his best at the Masters.
I also enjoy watching Fred Couples and David Duval - watching them brings back good memories of sitting down on a Sunday afternoon with my dad watching the Final Round of whatever golf game was playing - my dad would cheer on Tom Watson (and others) but I enjoyed watching Fred Couples (back in the 80s) and David Duval (in the 90s) and then Tiger showed up and now I enjoy watching them whenever they are playing. Also too, I remember when my dad worked at Stelco back in the day, after work he would come home and pick up either my brother or myself and take us to Chedoke Golf course in Hamilton to walk around the course while he took in a round of golf with his friends...a lot of good golf memories for me and I'm glad to see Tiger has returned to his game. (Although I would have liked to see his name announced today, just to see how people reacted).
Heather
Hope your Dad is feeling better soon.
best wishes for you and your father, Rick.
David: Thanks for that. It means alot.
Hope things go well for your Dad. My mom is 88 and every day with her is a blessing.
MississaugaBloger: Thanks. A I hear you about every day being a blessing.