Letters from the Past
I found a compilation of letters written by my Grandfather to my Dad and his brother. The letters were written in the 1950’s when my Dad and his brother were working in a farm in Mindanao. My Dad was in his early 20’s at that time. I found it by accident when I was going through my Dad’s old file cabinets while looking for some stuff. You could see how different it was back then, the duration between each letter was a month while for urgent messages, telegrams were used.
The stories of my father on his father left me the impression of him being somebody who was rigid and unbending. Reading through those letters though painted him in a more different light. Truth be told, I never met the guy since he died before I was born. Through those letters I got to know a man via the correspondence he had with his sons.
The typical letter included:
- News on what was happening with the family - usually about their Mom and how she is.
- Request to go to Church on some Saint’s feast day, First Friday and First Saturday
- Request to go to Church on “their” Saint’s feast day
- Request to fast and not eat meat on days required by the Church
- Fatherly advice on farming.
- The ever present concern for their health and safety
I never knew what my Dad’s relationship was with his Father. I’m not even going to bet that it was a close one, considering that he was one of the youngest in a large brood. He did say before that he was very happy upon receiving a gift from his Dad for a job well done. Other than that, my Dad rarely talked about his father and he was always referred to as “My Old Man.” When his Dad died he didn’t go to the funeral, he was busy with work. To which he told me that if that happened to him I shouldn’t go to his funeral too because work should come first. Karma did repeat itself as I wasn’t able to go to his funeral.
I got to form my own judgements about his father after reading the collection of type written letters. For one I never knew that he was so deeply religious. He was practically a walking encyclopedia on Saint’s Feast days and a cheer leader for Mama Mary.
I guess the key learning for me here is that, the way the next generations perceives you will depend greatly on how you relate well to the succeeding generation. With regards to my grand kids, if ever I don’t have the chance to meet them, I hope my son will paint me in a good light. But then again, my actions in my life time will be the one to really determine whether my descendants will choose to remember me or not. Let alone pray for my soul.
As I closed the book, what was firmly planted on my mind were the words that preceded and ended each letter: “Dearest Son” and “Your Loving Father”
Seriousness aside… this post is a little too early for Father’s day… *snicker*
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Tags: Old Letters
those letters are a treasure worth keeping ^^
Yeah, I plan to scan them when I have time and send them to my Mom.