Jul 222013
Father’s Day
“You never know what day your kids are going to remember most about growing up.
You hope that it is a good day, a day when you performed well as a parent. Your greatest fear is that it will be a bad day, a day when you lost your temper or let the dog run out in front of traffic, or a day when something happened that is only talked about in front of high-priced therapists.
In my case it was the day my dad bought sod.”
Thus begins Donald J. Bingle’s award-winning
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You Had Me at the Rambler…,
A charmer. You had me at the Rambler…our neighbors had a car just like that and I remember it vividly. I wasn’t certain where this story was going at first, but once you and Dad took off in the Rambler to buy sod, it didn’t matter because everything else evoked northern Illinois in mid-summer in the early 60′s. All the sounds, sights and smells are there – even the yellow dust of the gravel road and the charcoal dust of the sod field. A beautiful tribute to a father who understood the best things in life could all be put in a Rambler.
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Warm Memories of a Warm Father’s Day,
Don Bingle has written a warm, folksy remembrance about one day in his life with his father. The author, a very skilled writer of thrillers and fantasy, transfers his talent very easily to this down-home tale of a boy, an old Rambler, and a father who was an original as a human being. My one complaint is that it was over almost before I started. I would like to read a whole book of similar stories from the Bingle up-bringing.
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Heart-felt,
First of all, I want to be completely honest up front and acknowledge that I have known the author for a number of years and read many of his other works including novels and short stories. The usual piece by Mr. Bingle brims with ironic humor and often one feels that you can catch the author winking knowingly at his readers.
I felt that this relatively short piece was a real change of pace for the author. While it was in no way maudlin in tone, I believe that Don spoke with great emotion and real sincerity about his father in this piece. The story purports to deal with a single incident involving Don’s father and yet I believe it speaks eloquently about a man’s life and his relationships with his son. And have no fear, this is not a heavy piece designed to wring tears from your eyes. Rather, I believe this piece is meant to elicit a gentle chuckle from the reader and maybe an acknowledgement of how seemingly small incidents in our lives can often reveal information about the deeper meanings of the relationships between ourselves and the members of our family.
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