As I wait to see if my “hot tip” bears any fruit with the New Hampshire State Police in the investigation of the Stacey Burns murder, I thought I’d offer a change of pace for this blog.
This post is the opening paragraph in a memoir (first draft) about growing up with a “Greatest Generation” father. The tongue-in-cheek title is “In Case Anyone Cares,” a title my wife dislikes intensely.
The memoir is about sixty pages along. I wonder if, after reading this opening paragraph, anyone would want to continue reading.
The Greatest Generation?
Perhaps Not!
“The undeclared war between my father and me began about two years after the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, setting in motion a life-long family dynamic. Family wars and real wars have much in common. The individual battles over the course of each type of war obviously are not comparable in scale but the intensity and ferocity of a military clash are often matched in passion by the warring factions in a family. The battlegrounds differ in size but, in both wars, opponents jockey for position, trying to outflank each other and gain an advantage. The ebb and flow of battles won or lost and the occasional euphoria of victory dashed by the reality of another battle looming on the horizon enrich this unlikely comparison. A family war may not involve physical life or death situations, but it surely can present emotional conditions that might make one feel like psychological life or death is a possible result. My near drowning because of my father’s prank started it all.”
Nine days into the ninth year since Stacey Burns was murdered . . .(Couldn’t resist!)
Duke
I agree with your wife. Write it for yourself. To Hell with everyone else.
Sure, I would be interested. My older brothers warred with my father making life rather hellish most days. Always interested in another view point that might offer insights to the whys. I’m thinking there are commonalities between boys and dads. Write away, Duke. Always interested in what you have to say.