Keeping dads alive

This morning, while reading the New York Times Magazine, I came across the article, "Sidewalk Phantom" on the back page "Lives" column. The author, Austin Ratner, a cousin of Harvey Pekar (who writes comics and also had a film, American Splendor, written about him) writes about his father who died at 29 of lymphoma and how he's always trying to figure out a way to work his dad into conversation, including one with his neighbour, Paul Giamatti, who played his uncle Harvey Pekar in American Splendor.

It's not a sappy essay nor a celebrity-stalking recountment, but rather a very honest description of the mental process of a child who lost his father at a young age and the internal and external dialogues he's created in order to keep his dad alive. Reading it was like reading my own mind.

On this Father's day, I thank my dad, Keith, for being a presence in my life. There'll always be a part of him to be alive inside my mind and outside it.