@daringfireball

Great story, man. 🔥

@daringfireball you know what MLK had to say about the long arc of history.

Fascism doesn’t have any answers, and fascism can’t hide that fact forever. Their ‘strongman’ can’t even control his own bowels.

@daringfireball Beautiful piece, man.

Processing the loss of a parent is rough. I don’t think I *really* understood the meaning of “bittersweet” until I could no longer share some small delightful thing that had happened with my mom, or came across a book she had given me years ago.

I’m glad your dad found the ring. And I’m glad you reminded us that loving, aching, bittersweet moments can help us keep going, even as we stare down the coming darkness.

@daringfireball
You made me cry, John.

This is up there with @hotdogsladies's ‘Cranking’ essay and @jsnell’s ‘How He Met My Mother’ story. All moving pieces about parents, but much more.

@daringfireball
My wife and I have been married for 21 years.

During the first year of our marriage, my wedding band slipped off a number of times because it was a little too large.

Once, I took off a pair of disposable gloves and trashed them at work, only to realise a few hours later that my ring was inside. Luckily, I retrieved it.

I soon had my ring resized and it has not been off my finger since. More than 20 years now.

(My wife takes her wedding ring off every day when she showers…)

@daringfireball
What a beautiful read to start the day here in Germany.

It really touched a nerve as we will all too soon face an untimely election with uncertain outcomes and I am struggling with the failing health of my parents.

Thank you and all the best.

@daringfireball

I read it again; this lovely piece and then read it to my wife and found myself crying. Here’s a more considered response.

It used to be that I’d think about my dad and he was a man from another age. Where he was, was so far away from where I was. Now I feel as if I’m standing alongside him and young people are so far away.

I still feel 14, 15, 16, maybe 17 when I wake up – but it’s a different kind of feeling. There’s a kernel of me that remains as optimistic and generous and full of mischief as I was then; but it recedes quickly, just as I’m sure it did with my dad every morning.

I’ve crossed over. It’s not only that just that last month I reached retirement age, it’s that I can feel it in my bones. I have reached that plateau and when I get to the end of it, it will be a downhill slope. Somewhere in the background, I’m aware that I must be ready for it when it comes.

I think our dad would’ve recognised each other, you describe a man with very familiar values – and mine was a keen golfer too.

There’s a diamond in my wedding ring. One day I noticed it wasn’t there any more. I thought ‘I guess one day I’ll replace it’. Then a couple of weeks later I saw something sparkle on the steps outside my house - I guess it had been waiting for me.