There hasn't been a lot that's happened in recent years to bring tears to these aging eyes.
Then came an evening last week when son Brandon, of Fayetteville, and daughter Anna, of Bartlett, Tenn., came to visit during my slow recovery from weeks of radiation and chemo treatments at Harrison's Claude Parrish Cancer Center.
I should first explain how a 75-year-old father views his children.
Whenever I see Brandon, my mind goes to his younger years. In many ways he was an unusual child in that he was always wanting to help around the house without being asked. It wasn't uncommon to find he, at 14, had cleaned the entire kitchen when we arose on a Saturday.
His sense of humor and easy-going nature made him popular with everyone he met. I watched him excel as a teenager on the basketball court and golf course, or anything he attempted. Today, at 52, he's a father with a beautiful and exceptionally talented musical daughter, Elizabeth, who attends Alma High School.
Anna, 45, retired several years ago as a Navy chief and is now a civil servant with grown daughter Keirston and teenage son Trenton. When I see Anna, my mind flashes to her at age 3 pedaling her Big Wheel bike in the cul de sac with pigtails flying, and a love by age 10 of competitive swimming.
As their father, the children, to me, always will be the natural extensions of who they were in their early years.
It's seldom nowadays, with job demands and distances being what they are, that the three of us are able to reunite.
The other night as I squirmed in my recliner, I realized my bare feet were growing colder by the minute. I found a pair of socks and returned, realizing how difficult it can be for me nowadays to bend over enough to get them on.
Anna asked if she could help. I sat back and extended my legs. Brandon arose from his chair and came to join us. It was a strikingly tender moment for me, having both children there wanting to help make their father's life a little easier.
Brandon took one sock in hand and Anna the other as they gently slipped them over my feet at the same time.
I recognized the moment for exactly what it was: A few intimate and irreclaimable seconds of sharing and caring with me as their dad whose eyes suddenly brimmed with tears at how real and fleeting the image was. I couldn't tell if it struck them in the same way.
When one reaches the winter of life, the smallest events can seem profound, sometimes even more so than major ones.
Watching each of them lovingly slip a sock on my feet, followed by little squeezes of affection, flooded me with memories and powerful images of bygone years.
Whatever it was that affected me so deeply, after they headed back to their own homes and lives the next day, my eyes watered again as I sat alone on the deck reflecting on those few seconds at this stage of life that will never come again, and how fortunate am I to have had such kids. Sentimental? Yes, deeply so.
My mind lingered and I also realized that, if I'm granted a brief review of my existence in this strange world when the time arrives to catch my train, this simple act of a son and daughter caring for their father together will be among the most cherished. What could possibly matter more?
Dog attacks
This from Rev Dr. Jim Robnolt of Sherwood: "Thanks so much for [discussing] the tragic lack of focus on attacks by dogs. There are no limits on the breed of dog that can shift from a gentle giant to a ferocious attack beast.
"My story: I was just finishing work at the church when I received a call from a distraught father. I recognized the voice, but could not understand him since he was crying and sobbing so much.
"He finally gained control enough to tell me his daughter, about 9 at that time, had been attacked by two huskies and had been bitten on her neck, face, and one ear was almost torn off. She was in Children's Hospital emergency room.
"At the hospital, I saw the daughter, still in her bloodied dress, with her head and face bandaged. The father told me she had gone to the neighbor's house to see something, and noticed the beautiful huskies in their enclosure.
"She asked permission from the owner if she could go in to play with them. Everything was fine for a bit when suddenly both huskies pushed her to the ground and mauled her.
"The owner did rush in and pull her away from the animals, but the damage had been done. The father ran over, put a towel around her face and rushed her the 15 miles to the emergency room.
"The outcome was claim and counter-claim; defending and counter-defending. The huskies were not impounded. After a brief trial some damages were paid. The trauma to the daughter healed over time with the ear re-attached and the scars muted.
"Two beautiful typically placid and peaceful animals went into a rage unexpectedly. It would be important to have just laws that assign responsibility and apply immediate financial remedy for the victim--and the animal to be euthanized."
Mike Masterson is a longtime Arkansas journalist, was editor of three Arkansas dailies and headed the master's journalism program at Ohio State University. Email him at mmasterson@arkansasonline.com.