So … my dad is an inveterate “clipper.” By that I mean, he constantly clips/tears out/prints articles he believes I should read, immediately, then almost invariably pairs them with New Yorker cartoons he thinks were written just for me, paperclips them together with a post-it, and leaves them on the desk for when I get home for a visit. It’s a ritual. A Special Clipping Related Ritual.
If I’m gone for too long, he’ll mail them to me. Attention Julia Allison: Important Clipping Related Mail. He does not actually use these terms, but I understand what it means when I see his block letters: CLIPPINGS & CARTOONS ARE HERE! YOU WILL READ THEM IMMEDIATELY AND THINK DEEP & PONDEROUS THOUGHTS ABOUT THEM BECAUSE THERE WILL MOST CERTAINLY BE A TEST VIA PHONE LATER IN THE WEEK.
Today he left my bridesmaid bouquet - now dried - and an envelope (on which he drew “Welcome Julia - Farewell NY, Hello LA!” - in pink & purple, ha!) filled with clippings (one from Chicago Social on Ivanka Trump being an enormous business baller & never sleeping, another from The Atlantic on an entrepreneur who came up with a pen which records & indexes an audio stream, and a third on “one of the most puzzling and troubling books in Christian Scripture, Revelation.” Of course! Just what I wanted to delve into! I have been puzzled and troubled by Revelation! How did he know?!) - plus, next to that, a book of three plays from one of our shared favorite playwrights, Thorton Wilder. Wilder is most famous for “Our Town,” a simple and poignant work, and I had mentioned to my father a few months ago that I wished I had a copy of it in my library. He delivers.
Every parent shows their love in different ways - this is his. You know, when I was growing up, I’m not sure I entirely appreciated them, these small, thoughtful gestures. Perhaps there are some kids who might have, but, being a little oblivious, I don’t think I realized how special it was that he went to the trouble, that he cared enough to read something and think, “Julia should know about this, dammit!!” then tear it out just for me.
I do now.
