My step-father, Selwyn Lane, still lives in Whitefield. These days he calls The Morrison Care Facility his home. The kids and I stopped by for a visit today. It’s the first time he’s met Zuzu and probably the first time Kate and Stella will remember having met him. It was a meeting of two worlds for me: the one I grew up in and the one I live with.
Pa, as we often called him, taught me important lessons over the years; some directly, some I gathered by extrapolation. He’s a good man who doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. It’s one reason it’s impossible for anyone to say his name with anything but a smile. I’m glad my kids and I got to see his happy smile today. Of course, to him, I’ll always be Patches…. a story for another time.