Composer’s Thoughts
You can probably guess that this is autobiographical with a few liberties taken for artistic license. Yes, I grew up on a small farm. Yes, the events all happened as depicted. Although the big revelation didn’t happen on a hospital bed… it happened while my father drove me home from college on a semester break. We had a strained relationship to say the least and he broke the long silence by asking, “Why do you always question me?” I was confused and asked him what he meant. For years, every time he would tell me to do something, I would ask him “why.” He took it as an insult, thinking I was challenging him, or that perhaps I thought he was stupid. Quite the contrary. I revealed to him that I asked him why, because I wanted to understand things better… from the man I respected more than anyone else. He thought I looked down on him, while to me, he was my hero. That simple misunderstanding had driven a wedge between us our entire lives. It was only a couple years later that he developed cancer from his cigarette addiction that went from his lungs and metastasized in his brain and took his life. We had wasted most of our lives because of poor communication. As a father, I make it a point to always try to communicate with my kids, so I don’t continue that pattern.
Clint’s Thoughts
Damn. This one was hard to get through. I think the dynamic of fathers and sons is always a hard one. I know it was for me as well. Just heed the words on this one, folks. Time is one thing we don’t get back. Be honest and open with the people you love.
