Waking up

Tomorrow is Tom's wake. Tom died in December 2007 and I suppose we have all given him time to wake up as is the tradition behind a wake. My Uncle Hughie told me that a wake allows a person to have three days in which to sober up before they are declared officially dead. I suppose Uncle Hughie was being irreverent considering his brother and my Father was a skid row alcoholic. My Father, Doug, was a clean one though. He always smelled fresh and one of my best memories of him is the smell of old spice and aqua velvet. I wrote a poem about him with those two words as the title. But tomorrow is for Tom who took me aside one day and said that he had something for me. I couldn't imagine what it was as Tom and I were never close or talked much and the only thing we ever agreed on was our dislike of our current President and the love for my Mother. Anyway, he brings to me a box that bank checks are mailed to you in, reeking of cigarettes of course as that was his brobdingnagian habit, and inside was all of his various cuff links acquired over his 79 years. Man, I thought that was sweet. It was so real and it made me realize that maybe just maybe he noticed me more then I would ever have given him credit for. I tend to wear blouses that would need a cuff link and have complained about the lack of such. It had me wake up to the person who was Tom, to the spirit residing inside his body that made me suddenly self conscious at my own inability to connect. All those years he was with my Mom and I never knew anything about him except for superficial things and some of that was Tom's doing and the rest was my own. Well, Tomsy tomorrow I am going to share my cuff link story with your people and mine and I will be wearing the ones with the celtic cross you liked so much. Sleep tight.