My father died a year ago. He was a veteran of WWII, but never really talked about what happened on the front lines in Germany. He went through some really bad stuff, perhaps like your dad. A couple of years ago – 60 years after that war – I sat down with him, asking him to write down memories of what he had been through. After several minutes of me prompting him, he became quiet; his eyes moistened; and he said, quietly, “I just can’t go back there again.”Perhaps we can’t imagine the deep darkness that our fathers experienced, witnessed. They emerged from that darkness and trouble and sadness – and to even think about it again invites ghosts that they have finally escaped. And having children – why would they want to foist all of that on them? I think for my dad, it wasn’t interesting. It was just ugly.So when I listened to you talk about your dad, I felt like I knew him. And knew how you felt about all of that.I love your work.-Mark Ferrey
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