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A FATHER TRULY BLESSED
“Pop, hold on to me.” The son said with a smile as he opened the passenger side door…and I was instantly transported to a time 24 years before.
Our son, Bryan, was getting his drivers license and in front of us as we stood in line abreast…stood an older man with his father…who was taking the vision test.
The old man put his head in the machine…but something went awry…when asked to read the top line…”I can’t!” was his reply
“Let me try again.” The old man insisted. “Which line did you say?”
The screener answered, “the top line” then the old man stepped away
He looked at his son next to him…then angrily back at the screen…
“I’m not sure,” he said to his son, “but I think there’s something wrong with this machine.”
“Miss,” he asked the lady who had let out a cynical yawn, “this machine you’re using for my test…are you sure the darn things on?”
“I’m sure.” The lady replied…her voice was low and grating…
“Read the top line please.” She repeated, “there are many people waiting.”
In a voice that seemed so unkind…as if she was provoked…
She said, “If you cannot read the first line, sir, your license is revoked.”
The old man pushed his head back in to the machine then cried out, “This can’t be!” as he unsuccessfully tried to read a line he could not see.
Next he took a step back…he looked old and frail and weak…but he stood up tall, straightened his clothes and brushed a tear from off his cheek.
“Don’t worry, Pop.” His son said. “This is nothing we can’t survive…after all the years you drove me around…think of this as my turn to drive.”
“Pop, hold on to me.” He said as they slowly waked out the door. “I’ll drive you home the same way you drove me home before.”
The memory of that day will always be special to me…not just because Bryan passed his test…but it was also the day I saw in a son’s love…a father truly blessed.
