Remembering Father

Even Gifts Of Little Value Can Have Powerful Sentimental Influence And Pull At Heartstrings

I have several memories of my father that stick out more than others.

He died when I was young. There was so much he wanted to write but did not have time. I remember feeling distress at his frustration.

I will try, while I am here, to write and to mention what I remember of his interesting life and experience from time to time.

The first memory of him was when I was walking on a beach with him in Noumea. I was two.

The second was of him holding me up to a tank to see large sea turtles surfacing and making “Poh” sounds.

One day he went shopping and bought me a tiger toy. I called it Jofes. I still keep it to remember him.

I was learning about dinosaurs at school and came home talking a lot about them. He came out of his office and handed me a poem about a dinosaur soon after. I found it again today, and it really tugged at the heart. It epitomised his dry humour. He was known as the “King of Puns” at work. He was a gifted salesman in the early years and was said to have an eye colour change from brown to green when selling. People were either annoyed or mildly amused, but he still kept coming up with the puns.

One day he had to ring a company with Hubbard in the title. Instead of asking for the person who worked there, he absentmindedly said, “Is that Mother Hubbard?” Thankfully, the person on the other end had a sense of humour.

He worked on the radio and as a jackaroo in his earlier years. He no doubt used some of this humour on the radio.

I thought I would share the poem with you.

A Dinosaur by Pedir Assheton