Monday, September 1, 2014

Papa's Handkerchief


I have been reflecting on my father, my relationship with him when I was a young woman (he died in 1977), and wondering how to honor him with my current work. The only things I have of his are this handkerchief, and a navigator's pin (?) he wore during WWII, when he was stationed on an aircraft carrier. 

My mother had done her best to raise me to be a good housewife in the '60s, so I was in charge of ironing and pressing all of my dad's shirts and his endless stack of freshly laundered hankies when I was ten or eleven. I felt so abused at the time, thought that was my mom's job, not mine. Funny the way an old, threadbare hankie can bring back such vivid memories.

2 comments:

  1. This is lovely. My dad used cloth handkerchiefs too.

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    1. Hello, Joyce! Do you have any memories surrounding your dad's handkerchiefs?

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