helping hand

RenoufHelpingHand
“The Helping Hand” by Émile Renouf

The first time I ever saw a print of this painting was at an estate sale, not long after my father died on September 19th in 2013. The expression on the man’s face reminded me of my father and the little girl reminded me of myself so I bought it. It’s not in the greatest condition and the coloring is way off. Perhaps the coloring on this digital copy is off, too. Some day I may replace it with a better copy.

He’s been gone for three years now and I still miss him, my favorite teacher. Papa taught me how to wash my hair, how to cross the street, how to trust my own instincts, how to treat animals, how to be compassionate and kind, how to swim, how to ice skate, how to paddle a canoe, how to chop an onion, how to look up words in a dictionary, how to do research, how to enjoy bird-watching, how to garden, how to walk (and play) in the woods — the list goes on. I think of him every time I do any of those things.

It’s almost autumn and I will be eating as many Macoun apples as I can while the season lasts. They were his favorites. He often told me the following story when I was growing up. (It first appeared almost 6 years ago on my blog!)

When my father was a boy growing up on a New England farm during the Great Depression, his family picked as many apples as they could and stored some of them in a barrel in the root cellar. Of course he ate as many as he could while picking them, but his parents had a rule about the ones in the barrel he found exasperating. If anyone wanted an apple later in the fall or winter, he was required to take one that was the least fresh. By the time they got to the fresher ones they had also become much less fresh! So all winter he was having to make do with eating not-so-great apples. If only he had known he might have called on Iduna to keep the apples fresher longer!
~ Barbara Rodgers
(Iduna: Keeper of Apples)

But perhaps I miss him the most whenever I hear a story on the news about a threat from a new virus or other infectious agent. Dad was a microbiologist and was utterly fascinated with microorganisms — viruses, bacteria, spirochetes, amoebas, fungi, parasites. He would never tire of explaining things about them to me and correcting any misinformation the media might be passing along to his fellow citizens. And I never tired of listening. I find myself wondering what he would have had to say about the Zika virus. It’s not easy finding someone so interested in this subject!

I didn’t notice it at first, but my father died on his older brother’s birthday. Jon Stephen was born on September 19th in 1909 in Ukraine. My father, Theodore William, never knew his older brother because Jon died of a ruptured appendix on March 15th in 1919 in New York, when he was only 9 years old. Papa was born three years later on March 13th in 1922. A little bit of synchronicity there I think.

Still missing you, my dear old Papa!

12 thoughts on “helping hand”

  1. Your story about your father and the least-fresh apples resonated with me. I’m not sure whether or not it’s a good way of doing it–but I must admit that that’s basically how I manage produce at my house. 🙂

    1. It makes sense logically to manage produce this way but it’s sweet to look at the predicament through a child’s eyes. 🙂 We’re going apple-picking with our niece and her teens today — it’s my way of celebrating the season!

  2. Memories are so wonderful. I remember Dad’s hands, picking blue berries, turning the crank on the ice cream maker. The other night at a reading I saw him in a window in front of the audience. I looked more closely and realized it was me, reflected in the mirrored surface. Dad is always with me!

    1. What wonderful memories of your father, too, Jane. After he died I caressed my father’s strong but gentle hands one last time – swarthy from years of gardening – long fingers good for playing the guitar… I love how you saw your father in your reflection – how comforting to feel his presence that way.

  3. Yes a wonderful painting! So full of emotion and life. It reminds me of some Andrew Wyeth paintings especially in the very simple moment in life being expressed totally captured with all its meaning and a story one can imagine coming to full life.

    1. I’m so glad you enjoyed this painting, too. I will have to look at some Andrew Wyeth paintings ~ thanks for the suggestion! It is amazing how some paintings seems to be alive. When I saw “Dance at Bougival” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts I had a moment when the dancers seemed to be alive. It was breathtaking…

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