Observations on quality time with my 84 year old father, day 27

• I can’t get him to part with any of the furniture. “How do I know if my next place will have any closets?” I’m sure he won’t need seven…how many black outfits can he have?

I keep throwing things out nonetheless. All of my mom’s makeup: gone. Used shampoos and skin moisturizers: gone. I think anytime there was a sale on this stuff, she’d buy it and try it out as there must have been at least 20 of each and almost every one of them opened.

My sisters and I have packaged up most of the clothes and should make a Goodwill run before I leave town. The shoes go in the garbage though. Except the leopard loafers and house slippers. They’ll all get a second look.

My dad doesn’t seem to set foot into my mother’s half of the apartment. My wife did have the patience to clean my mother’s desk. Everything is organized in manila folders and piles. My guess is it will stay exactly as is and my father will never look at it. It’s not an emotional thing though. It’s just that he doesn’t care about stuff he has no use for. Until he does…then he’ll get on the phone and blame someone else. There’s also TV shows to partially watch…very loudly. Oh yes: he really does have hearing issues.

My wife found documents from a lawsuit he brought against his prison for a broken tooth he received in the mess hall while eating a fish filet in 2000. They say if you teach a man to fish he’ll eat for a lifetime. Give my dad a fish filet and he’ll sue you.

© Curt Weiss 2014