The Trip

Out of town trip to a wedding

A weekend out for my dad

He no longer drives since the stroke

Lovely wedding

Beautiful reception

In old southern mansion

Surrounded by huge live oaks

Trailing moss

Clipped lawns and flowers

Lace and Silver

Punch with tiny cakes

On to San Antonio

Late afternoon

Holiday weekend

No rooms anywhere

Exhausted father

Forty miles back out of town

Dumpy motel

Interesting traffic all night

Pushed chest in front of the door

He on the bed

Me on the floor

Early breakfast

A nice hotel

Got to the river walk early

No crowds

Cool and lovely

We walked I sketched

Rode a river boat

Had ice cream

A great day

Sunday morning mass

An old Catholic cathedral

Surrounded by

Dwarfed by a great glass mall

Mexican families streaming in

Little girls in white

Ruffles and bows

White patent leather shoes

Men and boys in suits and ties

White starched shirts

Hair slicked back

Tourists in shorts and cameras

All mixed in silence inside

Full length stained glass windows

Brilliant colors shining through

Painting the worn wooden pews

A powerful atmosphere of worship

 Folkloric Ballet Flashing production

Late dinner by the river under the stars

We two of aloofness and distance

In close proximity

Forced to touch

Helping him up and down stairs

Interacting out of necessity

Laughing together

What do we learn from one another

It eludes me

Except for knowing that it is important

Most interesting of all

During dinner

After long reminiscing regretting his life

He asked questions about my own

A first

He seemed truly interested

And very surprised

We have only known one another

For 50 years.