When I was cleaning up my file cabinet this weekend, I stumbled upon a couple of emails and letters from dad. Golly. If you want to turn me into a pile of mush, well… I guess this works.
In case you need a reminder about the amazingness that was Mark Skarich, here you go. I can only hope to be half the (wo)man he was. Damn, dad. I miss these deep streams of consciousness.
This one was from February 24, 1999. He sent me a cheap, Walgreens “I heart U” chocolate thing every Valentine’s Day since I never had a valentine. I must have sent a thank you note to him and this was his response.
P.S. Dad’s poor grammar left intact – proof it’s about the message, not the mechanism. 🙂 (And/or that I come from a long line of pontificators, not copywriters…)
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Maggie, Thank you for your response to the chocolate I LUV YOU. but more than anything, thank you for being an optimist. I believe it’s something you either are or you’re not. I tried my absolute best to instill in you, as you were growing up, you can choose to see life as you want to. I don’t think pessimists think they’re seeing the world wrong, they just think of the worst possible outcome. They don’t see brilliant stars. they don’t smile when they see teenagers kissing in the mall. They don’t appreciate the Hallmark Card commercials. They don’t allow themselves to dream. Mag, you are a dreamer, I’m no expert on love, but when you feel like you might being drawn to someone. Ask one simple question, “are they an optimist?” If not, pass them over. They are incurable and incompatible. Go for someone who appreciates getting up to see the sunrise. Someone who mimics joyful animals. Someone who would rather smile than not. I don’t mean to be blind to the pain the world has to offer, but don’t languish in it. Jimmy Durante was an entertainer my dad liked 40 years ago. He was mostly a comedian, but he did sing. He was not attractive at all. He had a massive nose and dangly ears. He used his appearance often in his skits. I bought a CD of his when we went to that mall in north Columbia. It’s old love songs. He’s been dead for probably 25 years. but I think you’d love his songs. I’ll make a copy of them for you. You’ll never know how much I loved our talks when I would lay on your bedroom floor and you would sit on your bed. The neat part about them was sometimes they would happen and other times the time wasn’t right. When you try to force something it’s not natural. One of the lessons in life I paid attention to is: A person has 3 sides to them, a public side we all know, a private side only some of our most intimate friends know, and a secret side that no one else knows. I love to wander in my secret side. I can’t wait til you come home for a week. I’m sure it’ll fly by. I think about you everyday. As long as I have a memory, I’m a rich man. See you soon daughter, dad.
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