Pop has been a little, whatcha call, “pooky” lately. His youngest daughter, Lindy, got married recently and he said he’s been waxin’ nostalgic ’bout stuff ever since.
He said he supposes walkin’ her down the aisle and havin’ that daddy-daughter dance at the reception is what did it.
I know he’s been thinkin’ a lot about his Boy Scouts, too, particularly the ones that are becoming Eagles this year and in the next few months. He’s been hangin’ out with those boys for about a dozen years and had a hand in about 16 other Eagles, but the 6 guys that have made it this year are special because now he’s the Scoutmaster and has watched ’em grow up.
These little guys show up around 11 years old and most stick around ’till around 17 or 18. That’s a lot of growin’ time. Pop says watchin’ their development reminds him of a song he heard when he was a 9 year old kid – “Puff the MagicDragon.”
It starts out about this little boy and his buddy, a dragon, and how they played together. In the end, though, it’s a sad kinda song because one day the little boy grows up and never comes back. ‘Course the dragon, Puff, is devastated and never the same. The song is really about the loss of innocence in children and that’s probably what Pop’s been thinkin’ about.
So, Pop says, the point is to cherish the days that your kids are little (and your puppies, too). He laments missin’ a lot of ’em while he was jettin’ around the world, chasin’ his career and makin’ a name for himself. He said you can’t ever get those days back.
Even though I know he goes off once in a while with his Boy Scouts and occasionally slips away with the missus for a day or two, I’m glad he’s here with me most of the time.
I wonder if I could find a dragon to play with while they’re gone?