Drunken Owls and Other Delights

(Dad and I in the Belfry, probably around 2003 or so.)

We never called it "downstairs", because it was the basement--it was "down cellar" to us.

My Dad has had his collection of historical files about Athol down in the basement since before I was born (as far as I know, anyway!), and always did his writing and research work down there. He's had all sorts of people--other fellow local historians, journalists, students, and so on--in to his basement office to share all kinds of local history. And after all these years, he's decided that eventually he'll be donating his work to the local library...fitting, considering that most of it came from there in the first place, in the form of newspapers, books, microfiches, and a lot of photocopying. Nearly all the information is on 3x5 index cards and filed by subject in multiple filing cabinets, filing boxes, and drawers. It's everything from minutiae to weird trivia to important events in the town's history. Just a few days ago he was awarded with Athol's Citizen of the Year award for all the historical work he's done for the town over all these years. It was well deserved, for all the work he's done.

So it seemed only fitting that, when I moved back home after five years in Boston, that in early 1996 I moved my PC down there and staked my claim near the cellar door as The Belfry. In effect, our basement became one big writing nook, with either of us at opposite ends of the room, listening to our own music (he to his Benny Goodman and other swing greats, and me to my alt.rock), writing for a few hours a day. Every now and again I'd ask for some reference material--he had some religious dictionaries that helped me when I was writing the trilogy--and he'd come over and ask how I was doing. This was a setup that lasted for close to nine years until I moved out in the spring of 2005.

We live on opposite ends of the country now, but I have to say that if anything, he taught me a lot about writing, and not just how to write (my entire family took part in that!)--he taught me about perseverance, determination, obsession, completeness, and impartiality. When we talk on the phone, he still asks me if I'm still writing, and I'm always happy to report that I still am.

Thanks, Dad! Happy Father's Day! :)