the Macher: My Father's Story

This is a fictional short story of a man’s life and death.

The Greeks got it right long ago. Many aspects of our lives are tragic.

The Father/son relationship – such an unsavory mix of love and hate. Pride and shame. Support and competition.

Wouldn’t it stand to reason that what plays out in the family, also plays out on the world stage.

And here, in as few words as possible, the irony of ironies is laid out in a narrative. An often humorous narrative. The son ponders the uncomfortable juncture of mid-life as his father tries coming to terms with his final days of life.

“For us, both of our identities were about to die. My identity with my former life. His identity with his body on this earth. And here we sat, two men shaken by uncertainty. Trying to love each other as best we could in spite of our emotional fragility.”