Erattor

He knew how spin a tale, to create the finest stories. Or rather, he knew how to breathe life into the old ones, creating the most unsurpassable adventures ever told.

(I say, smiling, expelling a sigh of contentment and gratitude.)

And I was one of the lucky ones! Fortunate enough to witness and experience his incomparable magic, firsthand.

It didn't matter what it was about. It could be an adventure he experienced on the railroad or raising 6 of us kids on a farm. Or made-up tales about trolls under the bridge or the dappy dinky doodler.

Whatever brought a smile, was all he needed to prompt him to tell it.

The sillier the topic, the better. Even if you had heard it told a hundred times. Dad had a way of making them exciting and new. Bringing them to life in true Boyd, avant-garde fashion.

So, early on, we donned him with the resplendent title,"erattor." The godfather of adventure, tales and make believe.

At any given function, you could be sure that, eventually, everyone would be gathered around where he was sitting, waiting to hear a new spin on an old tale.

Campfires were the best. He could spark your interest, quicker than flames spitting from a glowing ember. And make you feel as warm, inside.

From flashlights under his chin and ghost stories. To the, "let me tell you what it was like when I was in school, good ol' day memories."

*

(Sorry, Paul Harvey)