My Dad was a very unique character. He was a bastard child, raised in a family who never really accepted him as one of their own... he was just known as "Anna's boy". He basically raised himself living on the streets, with his only nurturing coming from his beloved Grandmother Ollie. However... out of his 3 sisters and 1 brother... he is the only one who made something of himself and was successful in life. So to say he had a hard knocked life from the beginning is putting it mildly. He walked away from his life and family at the age of 16 to join the Air Force National Guard... lying about his age to get in... til the day of his death his real age was always a question.
My father was an amazing political cartoon artist with a clever wit. His panels were published in several newspapers for over 50 years. He drew for the Louisville Courier Journal back in the 1960's, he drew for the Air National Guard paper from the 1950's - 1980's, and he drew for the Shepherdsville Pioneer News from 1984 - til his death last month, July 2013. I am blessed and privileged to not only have in my possession a copy of his Air National Guard "File-13" book of cartoons that was published in 1973, but it is also personalized and dedicated to me. Like most daughters are to their father's, I was his Princess, and he always made me feel very loved and special.
To say my Dad was quirky is putting it mildly, he was a loner, preferring his own company to most others, closer to animals than he was people, but he had a heart of gold and was well liked, and well respected. He was a creature of habit, never varying from his daily tasks, no matter how bad he felt. He and my mother divorced 35 years ago, and ever since he lived like a hermit, some thinking he was actually homeless... but he was happy with his mostly solitary life. He had lady friends... two whom he loved and had long term relationships with, but they, and he, never wanted to re-marry. Even tho the divorce was his fault, he loved my mother dearly til the day he died... carrying both her picture and his wedding band in his wallet the last 35 years. I now wear their wedding bands together and therefore keep them both close to my heart and thoughts every single moment, of every single day. I also have, and wear my Grandmother's wedding band for the same reason.
My Dad was sick for quite sometime, but my brother and I (there are only the two of us... our younger sister died in 1961 at 22 months old) had no idea just how sick he was until the last 8 weeks of his life. He adamantly refused to go to the doctor or receive any medical treatment of any kind. He didn't trust doctors... thinking they would poke and prod until they found some aliment wrong. He was a smoker from the age of 8 and was 77 when he passed away... smoking his entire life. He believed he had emphysema, OPD, or lung cancer... but he never wanted to be told he had any of those things. He self medicated himself for the last 2 years... how he lived in the amount of excruciating pain he had to have had is beyond all of us. But he was as stubborn as he was determined. He actually died of lung cancer that had spread throughout his entire body, was in his bones, his liver, his abdomen, and possibly his brain. My brother and I found all this out after he collapsed outside of his home and received a phone call from a policeman, who called an ambulance and took him to the hospital. Fortunately my brother arrived 2 minutes before the ambulance did and convinced Dad he HAD to go to the hospital, because up until that moment he was still refusing any medical treatment. His last 18 hours of his life he was medicated and pain free, dying quietly and peacefully hours before hospice could begin their services. I live out of state, and I am very blessed to have been able to make it to his bedside before he passed and held his hand the last 5 hours of his life. He was alway afraid he would die alone, but blessedly my brother, myself, my eldest daughter (a nurse) were with him as he passed from this world to the next to finally meet my sister in heaven, who has been waiting for him for a long time.
Dad was actually very funny. He loved anything 'clever', whether it be a joke, a pun, or an invention. He always presented himself as a 'sad sack' kind of character, living the "Murphy's Law" life believing... he only had bad luck if he had any luck at all, and anything that could, would go wrong. He wasn't a handy man of any sort... believing everything could and should be fixed with duct tape and spit. He loved junky cars... trading one junker for the next... usually trading down! I bet he has owned over 100 junk cars in his life time. He was an avid reader, preferring Mystery's, Crime/Detective Novel's and Westerns, and he loved solving logic problems.
My brother and I worked as of one brain throughout his funeral planning, dealing with his estate affairs, and cleaning out his apartment. If he thought it, I said it and vice versa. Our most important task was to honor Dad. He never wanted a fancy funeral and he would haunt us for sure if we would have had a public funeral viewing. He wanted a quiet, plain and simple military funeral. We accomplished his wishes perfectly. We had a private viewing for my brother, myself and our family. He had an Honor Guard Flag presentation, a Gun Salute and Taps played for him. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! We had a small gathering afterwards and I think he would be very proud of my brother and I. Then totally unexpectedly we happened to see a news feature about his 30 year political cartoonist career on the local news. To say the least, we were completely shocked and stunned!! WHO KNEW!!! He had made such an impact on the community from his political drawings published in the weekly newspaper that this news feature ran on the news for two days straight, in the morning, afternoon, and evening segments. WOW!!!! I am sooooooo very proud for him!
After we saw the news feature, my brother and I went to visit the newspaper where he submitted his panels. We were given a view of the archives of his drawings, including the very first panel he drew for them... as well as the complete story of how he started drawing for them. He walked in one day carrying a panel with him and telling them he had drawn for newspapers in the past and wanted to be in their paper. They hired him on the spot for $5 a panel... the publisher hung his head and said... "embarrassingly, we never gave him a raise" So for 30 years he drew for this newspaper making only $20 a month!!! To him, it was never about the money, it was the love of drawing that was important to him. I know Dad had no idea how much of an impact he made on this community and how badly he is missed, but... he would be sooo proud! While we were at the newspaper, they gave us that weeks edition that had just run that day.... his column was called "Coyle's Corner" and on the page of his column they left 1/4 of the page blank, with the caption over top reading... "In Honor of Paul Coyle".... beneath it they printed his story of 30 years with them. Again... my brother and I were shocked and stunned at the tribute given to this very quiet, humble, and private man. WOWZERS!!!
Just like George Bailey in "It's A Wonderful Life".... you just never know what kind of an impact you have on people. My Dad was a quiet, unassuming man, who made a big difference and never knew it. I hope he is looking down from heaven and seeing for himself what a great man he really was... because he really was a GREAT MAN! I loved him dearly every day of my life, and I will miss him dearly for the rest of my life... but I know he is, and always will be with me, in my heart and thoughts, and on my hand with his ring. I have great comfort knowing that he, my sister, and my Grandmother are angels in heaven always watching out for me, and those they loved. Rest In Peace Dad... you were loved and appreciated, and are now missed deeply! HUGS!!! Your Princess Victoria!
No comments:
Post a Comment