English 101 - the Fathers in My Life

English 101

THE 'FATHERS' IN MY LIFE

By Jennifer Peace

Perhaps the one thing I wanted as a child was to have a father who was there for me. My father died when I was four and then my mom married Sam who was hardly a father to me. Sam sat on the couch and smoked opt all day, my mom said it was because of the war but you'd think he'd of gotten over it after all that time. But I did have some good male figures in my life. In this essay, I will tell you about them.

First was Mr. Bobby. He lived next door and used to watch me when my mom and Sam would go away for the weekend. His wife was Janey and she was a good cook. She was also a nurse and worked a lot but Mr. Bobby was disabled he was always home. He woodworked and taught me how to build a birdhouse. He also drove me to school sometimes when my mom couldnt. He was a good man and I always said he would be the one to walk me down the asile on my wedding day. Well, that never came to pass as he passed away of a massive heart attack when I fifteen. I will never forget him. To this day I credit him with being the reason I did not end up in trouble.

Next was Mr. Chester Jones. Mr. Jones was my Chemistry teacher in the Eleventh grade. He cared about me and told me I had potential in life. I was sad about Mr. Bobby and it was like Mr. Jones walked right into my life and took over. He wrote a recommendation for me for college even though I ended up getting pregnant my senior year and not going.

A few weeks ago, I went to visit Mr. Jones, he is in the nursing home now, as he was an old man even when I was in school. I told him that after all these years I am finally going back to college. He shed a tear and said he knew I could do it. I will never forget Chester.

Finally is my father in law, Thom Peace. He is a pastor and has served as mentor to me after the death of my husband, his son, Bub. This was six years ago and Bub was bad news so no one was surprised when he died drunk-driving, but no one was more dissappointed than Thom. Once Bub died Thom took me under his wing and he told me I needed to start living right so I did. I will never forget Thom.

Mr. Bobby, Mr. Chester Jones, and Thom have not been my father, but they played the role at times in my life when I needed him. Thank you, gentlemen, for all you have done for me.