A Salutation To My Father

International Women’s Day 2008 is just over two weeks away, and I am slowly packing my bags in preparation for my journey across the pond to the UK – London to be exact. I cannot count the number of times I have been to the capital, as I have been a regular visitor and at times a very, very, very part-time resident for 21 years; however I have only been celebrating IWD in the UK for 4 years. Last year I unable to cross the pond for International Women’s Day, as there was a snafu with my passport, so this year will be all the more special for me.

I have booked and planned on attending at least a dozen women based events whilst in London, and I am even giving a workshop at the 9th March Feminist Gathering called, “Women of the Book Who Go By The Name Feminists” - More about that in a future blog entry.

London holds a special place in my heart, as it is more than a city for me. It is the home of some of my closest friends. It is a place where I truly grasped the concept of being a citizen of the world and lastly and most importantly it is the place that my dear, late father encouraged me to travel to over two decades ago.

My dad, a WWII vet wanted to instill in all his children an understanding that the world was far bigger and more expansive and more complex that the neighborhood, city and country one was born in. He wanted his children to appreciate that the world had a myriad of perspectives. Indeed we may not agree with those perspectives, but he wanted us to know they existed. So at his encouragement I started my international travels in London, and I have now visited most of Western Europe. It is my hope in the coming months to expand my travels beyond Europe to say the Middle East or parts of Western Africa, but I digress.

So as I prepare to cross the pond yet again, I am ever so grateful for my father (and my mother), and I am reminded of one of the last conversations I had with my dad. He said he had hope that he had been a good dad to me. I assured him that he had been the best father as he was the father I needed. You see my dad not only gave me his love of math he had also gave me his curiosity of the world. And how many women can truly say their father gave them such a precious gift? So with all my heart and love thank you daddy, for giving me London and the world…………………………and may you and ma continue to rest in peace.

Debra – Buddy’s eldest child