Green Medicine

The last letter I ever got from my Dad was in July of 2017, about 2 years before he died. After his massive heart attack several years prior, he had to be put into assisted living facilities. The first one was very nice. It wasn’t arranged for him to have a phone in his room, but my younger brother set him up with a cellphone. This worked somewhat for a brief period but having my Dad keep the phone charged and being able to hear it when it rang as well as losing it from time to time, that option eventually went away. My Dad had access to a computer, but I think his eyes grew worse and his ability to operate one became too complicated. His hands hurt and he couldn’t write very well. I was able to call the facilities he was in and check in on how he was doing and occasionally, one of the nurses or aids would get him to a phone or let me talk on whatever phone they were using. Other than a few visits from Alaska to Illinois, I simply used old fashioned letter writing to him once a week so he would know what was going on with me and would do so on a card featuring one of my numerous photographs. I understood he enjoyed them and saved them. I’m not sure what happened to them after he passed but I assume they were thrown out.

I missed that two-way communication with my Dad since, as you can probably tell, we had good and regular interactions through various modes of contact over the years since my childhood. So, I had come up with the idea of sending my Dad a blank piece of paper with a self-addressed stamped envelope so all he had to do was write on the paper and then mail it back to me, which he did. His letter was probably as difficult for him to write as it was to read due to arthritis in his hands. But I was thrilled to get a letter in the mail again from my father.

The writing of a book in relation to the concept of Green Medicine had been on my mind for many years. When I took a small business class at a college in Homer, Alaska, the final project for the class was coming up with a business then writing the financial plans as well as marketing it. Mine was Green Medicine with my photos with verses and quotes, much as what you are seeing in this journal book. At the time of initiating him to write to me, I wanted his input further on Bible verses with special meaning to him or that struck him in a particular way. I had asked him to jot some down for me to further pursue the book idea and, also, some inspiration for possibly writing music as I was taking piano lessons again at the time. In his short note to me, his answer to this request was simply:

“Your card efforts showing pictures you have taken could be enough for you to do while trying to write some songs. You have inspiration for your song in your heart so get to work.”

I think deep down, I knew this was going to be the last letter from my Dad. There may be many advantages to the digital world but there’s nothing like a hand-written note. It almost seems to be a lost art. There are no words to describe how I treasure this letter. The last time I saw my Dad was during a visit to Illinois in August of 2018. I don’t remember the exact time I last talked to him on the phone, but I tried to call him on his birthday, July 9, in 2019. His room was close to the nurses’ desk and although she said he was in his wheelchair, she couldn’t get him to come to the phone. I heard him faintly in the background say he would just talk to me later. The nurse said he was doing all right but hadn’t been feeling well. Twenty days later, he died.

You never know when it will be the last time you see or talk with someone. It is human to have disagreements or say things in the heat of a moment. But be careful how you leave things with that person. You may not get a chance to rectify a situation. Try not to let the ‘last time’ be laced with regret. Mostly, for parents, strive to be an inspiration to your children, not an obstacle for their flow of life to overcome.

My Dad was not perfect, and we had our differences at times. But I choose to go with all the good memories, and there were so many. He was an inspiration to me and taught me to have a foundation in Christ and how to learn more about God through His creation.

Romans 1:19 – 20

Because what may be known of God is manifest in them for God has known it to them. For since the creation of the world His indivisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.