OF WATERDOGS AND FAMOUS MEN

a true story of a great and kind man

OF WATERDOGS AND FAMOUS MEN

our home was spotless,

we had helped polish it
for two whole days,
even the ancient heirloom braided rug
on the living room floor
was glowing,
and dressed in sunday best

we waited with baited breath,
daddy was coming back today

and he was bringing a ”very important guest”

“you must behave like ladies,
be polite, this is a visit
from a powerful man, he is very important

to your daddy, and to all the working men in this country.”

So we waited and stayed neat and clean,
we would make a good impression on this man,

we even had a super gift to share with him...

daddy came through the door

talking to the dark haired stranger behind him,
and before dad could even get mom’s name out
we leaped up and raced to our room

and grabbed our treasures by the tails

rushing back to proudly display

our beautiful multi-colored water lizards

our wondrous gifts to show this so important man,

but we were young
we didn’t know
they would fall off of their tails
to scurry across the rug
in different directions...
and how funny it was to see
such a “very important man”
drop to his knees to scuttle
over the huge handmade rug
just like kathy and i did
trying to help us catch our treasures
laughing with tears in his eyes...

our great introduction to
Mr. Walter P. Reuther.

Author's Note

this is a true story...Mr. Reuther came to have dinner with my family one evening around the time the AFof L was working on a merger with the CIO...we were living on a stump ranch in fox hollow, oregon...my dad was working for the AFof L...i wrote this poem for submission to the writers conference hosted by the college of the redwoods here in mendocino county...one of the ladies in the writers group was best friends with Walter's daughter, who lives here on the coast...i did not know this at the time...so i was very surprised to receive a wonderful thank you note from Walter's daughter...she thanked me for sharing a story about her father he had never mentioned to her...funny how small a world we live in...thanks for reading my tale...
"

Reviews

[alifeacoustic]

A very beautiful memory indeed. Precious times to know, that the important man was just like the rest of us. Good to see he joined in on the fun of it all.

[daninstockholm]

you weave such lovely tales, always a treat to read!! Very well done!!

[jeannemarie coulter]

thank you, the truth of this tale still amazes me...