The Old Man

“I called him Dad, or, on occasion, Father, until he was dead, and then a few weeks after his death, in casual conversations, mostly at dinner parties, telling the story of his death, I began to refer to him as my old man, saying things like: My old man wasn’t a bad guy, but I couldn’t see him, I mean really see the soul whom I called Father, until he was gone, and then it was too late.”