Father and Son

A proud father looked upon his son one day, and he realised that his son had grown to be six years old already. It seemed as though just yesterday his young boy was just learning his first words. Soon, the father realised, his son would be a teenager, doing everything in his power to spend as much time away from his father as he could. The father needed to spend some time with his son before it was too late. And so he called his son into his room, and he announced, "Son, I love you very much, and I would like to have a special father and son day. This Monday, I will take the day off work, and I will allow you to take the day off school, and the two of us can go and do anything you like." The son was very happy about this, and he very quickly nominated that they spend the day at the Sea Side Fun Park.

And so the day came. Father woke his son up bright and early, and with great enthusiasm, they prepared for their day out. The two of them hopped into the car, and began the long drive down to the Fun Park. Being a Monday morning, however, the roads were jam packed, which caused the father to curse at the traffic. The son didn’t like his father cursing, and he began to lose his spirit.

Parking was not a problem when they got there. Being a Monday, most people were either at work or at school.

Walking through the Park, the son was eager to try some of the more hell raising rides. The father, while a little wary, climbed aboard the roller coaster with his son. The carriage slowly began to move off. They were the only ones on the carriage. The carriage reached the top of the incline, then raced down, and around, then up and down again in a mind blowing thirty second rush. When the carriage slid to a stop, the father looked to see his son’s reaction. The son looked up and grinned, "That was great!" But somehow the father could tell that the son was not entirely satisfied. It certainly wasn’t the big thrill one usually expects, and the father, as well as the son, blamed the fact that there were no other people on the ride to share the excitement with.

The two partners roamed around the deserted Park grounds, feeling cold and alone. The son decided he wanted to go through the Haunted House, so the father paid for the two of them, and walked through. Aside from the dim lighting and sound effects, as well as a few plastic skeletons hanging on the wall, the Haunted House was really just a five meter passage way. "That was crap!" said the son to the father. In agreement, the father turned to the ticket collector outside, and demanded their money back. The ticket operator denied him his refund, and an argument ensued involving raised voices and banging of fists on the counter. This upset the young lad, who began to walk away. The father, noticing this, abandoned his complaint, and tended to his son once again.

The son looked around at the other rides, and the absence of people made them less appealing than he had imagined. He led his father to the video arcade, where he intended to fulfil a life long dream of actually playing a racing car game. The father, who did not know how to operate the machine, and who was also shocked at the enormous price of computer games, opted out. He stood and watched his son play instead. As he watched, he felt detached once again from his son. He was just an observer. The father considered the day, and tears welled up in his eyes. It had not been a time of father and son bonding as he had intended. Nothing had gone as he had expected. The place was deserted, the father had lost his temper, and the son had preferred to play on his own rather than with his father.

But the time had come to leave. The two of them climbed into the car and headed for home. Nothing much was said, and the father felt very disheartened.

Over twenty years later, my father lay in the operating room after a massive heart attack. The doctor has told us that he is not likely to pull through. We sit in the waiting room, awaiting the doctors return with the news of my father’s condition. He emerges. "I’m terribly sorry," he announces, "there were too many complications, and… I’m afraid he has passed away." My mother turns to me and clutches my shirt, sobbing on my shoulder. I hold her to comfort her. And all I can think is, "I never thanked him for that day. It was the greatest day of my life."