A Goodbye Kiss

我们每个人都有过那样的时代，开始想要拒绝父母，想要成为自己，只是在那个年龄我们不曾意识到，无论怎样我们都是父母眼里永远的孩子，需要疼爱需要呵护。

一个不美满的结局，一个永不可能实现的心愿，一个父亲伟大的心，一个儿子深切的忏悔。

很感人，很动人，几乎让人流泪。

The Board Meeting had come to an end. Bob started to stand up andjostled the table, spilling his coffee over his notes. "Howembarrassing. I am getting so clumsy in my old age."

Everyone had a good laugh, and soon we were all telling stories of ourmost embarrassing moments. It came around to Frank who sat quietlylistening to the others. Someone said, "Come on, Frank. Tell us yourmost embarrassing moment."

Frank laughed and began to tell us of his childhood. "I grew up in SanPedro. My Dad was a fisherman, and he loved the sea. He had his ownboat, but it was hard making a living on the sea. He worked hard andwould stay out until he caught enough to feed the family. Not justenough for our family, but also for his Mom and Dad and the other kidsthat were still at home."

He looked at us and said, "I wish you could have met my Dad. He was abig man, and he was strong from pulling the nets and fighting the seasfor his catch. When you got close to him, he smelled like the ocean. Hewould wear his old canvas, foul-weather coat and his bibbed overalls.His rain hat would be pulled down over his brow. No matter how much myMother washed them, they would still smell of the sea and of fish."

Frank‘s voice dropped a bit. "When the weather was bad he would driveme to school. He had this old truck that he used in his fishingbusiness. That truck was older than he was. It would wheeze and rattledown the road. You could hear it coming for blocks. As he would drivetoward the school,I would shrink down into the seat hoping todisappear. Half the time, he would slam to a stop and the old truckwould belch a cloud of smoke. He would pull right up in front, and itseemed like everybody would be standing around and watching. Then hewould lean over and give me a big kiss on the cheek and tell me to be agood boy. It was so embarrassing for me. Here, I was twelve years old,and my Dad would lean over and kiss me goodbye!"

He paused and then went on, "I remember the day I decided I was too oldfor a goodbye kiss. When we got to the school and came to a stop, hehad his usual big smile. He started to lean toward me, but I put myhand up and said, ‘No, Dad.‘

It was the first time I had ever talked to him that way, and he had this surprised look on his face.

I said, ‘Dad, I‘m too old for a goodbye kiss. I‘m too old for any kind of kiss.‘

My Dad looked at me for the longest time, and his eyes started to tearup. I had never seen him cry. He turned and looked out the windshield.‘You‘re right,‘ he said. ‘You are a big boy....a man. I won‘t kiss youanymore.‘"

Frank got a funny look on his face, and the tears began to well up inhis eyes, as he spoke. "It wasn‘t long after that when my Dad went tosea and never came back. It was a day when most of the fleet stayed in,but not Dad. He had a big family to feed. They found his boat adriftwith its nets half in and half out. He must have gotten into a gale andwas trying to save the nets and the floats."

I looked at Frank and saw that tears were running down his cheeks.Frank spoke again. "Guys, you don‘t know what I would give to have myDad give me just one more kiss on the cheek....to feel his rough oldface....to smell the ocean on him....to feel his arm around my neck. Iwish I had been a man then. If I had been a man, I would never havetold my Dad I was too old for a goodbye kiss."