I spent my afternoon clearing out the rest of my dad’s old documents and books from his study while my mom watched supervised.

I found a manila envelope filled with pictures that had been taken at official work events over the years. Some of them were really great pictures of him so I kept them all.

There was another picture of him and Castro (Fidel) that was actually even nicer than the one I have framed that I’d never seen. Another, an official portrait taken at some even with him and Bas (ex prime minister of Trinidad) both of them grinning ear to ear looking like they were having a great time. 

I think I’ll get some of them framed. They’re history. It made me so proud to see him, his career over the decades. Everyone I’ve ever met who knew him always spoke so highly of him, of his intelligence, eloquence, and dedication to his job.

I’ve been missing him a lot lately. I need his support. I need his advice. I miss our talks. I miss sitting with him on the porch with a rum and coke talking to him about whatever was happening in my life at the time. I can still hear his voice telling me that it’s going to be ok. I’ve been going through a hard time lately. And I just wish I had him here to help me figure out what to do.