My Personal Creator
Memories of Dad Through The Years. My dad, Jay Harmon Moss, would have been 92 today. He almost didn’t survive at all because of the flu pandemic in 1917 -1918. But he did survive and managed to live a long life filled with a lot of giving. He enriched the lives of many. Not with financial contributions, but with selfless contributions of time, love, devotion, creative expression, and caring. Dad was a teen when the Great Depression occurred and he rolled up his sleeves and went to work to help family. His personal health kept him from going to the front lines in WWII, but he did his part in the war plants. He missed out on going to college and a formal education, but he was one of the smartest men I knew. He loved words and even more he loved to write. He’d never spend a nickel on buying Hallmark Cards for an occasion, rather, he’d sit down and compose a personalized card for you and write it in his own hand, with his unforgettable calligraphy scroll. Just like you and I might collect pennies in a jar, dad collected friends and remembered them each year on birthdays, anniversaries, and other occasions. It was estimated that his calendar reflected that he often remembered several people every day. Most of all, he remembered mom. He wrote her endless numbers of love letters.
When I wonder where my love for writing came from, I don’t have to look very far. And likewise my bother Joel and sister Karen were infected by dad’s love for words.
Dad has been gone for just over 5 years now. It doesn’t seem possible that it has been so long and yet I miss his bear-hugs and his constant optimism and encouragement about the future. My writing makes me feel connected to dad and yet I’d so like to share my many ideas and writings with him. But somehow, the agnostic that I am, believes that he knows and glows.
How does this all relate to scrabble? Here’s the segue.
Q. How many ways can you spell ‘FATHER’?
A. l-o-v-e; t-h-o-u-g-h-t-f-u-l-n-e-s-s; k-i-n-d-n-e-s-s; g-e-n-e-r-o-u-s-i-t-y; o-p-t-i-m-i-s-t; f-r-i-e-n-d; m-e-n-t-o-r; r-o-l-e-m-o-d-e-l