A Peace of Tata

Asking our Tata to describe himself would result in humble words
"I am a simple man, " he would say
"Who is blind in one eye and can't see out of the other."
The he would flash his little boy grin for being so clever

Underground for over 40 years he toiled
Intense was the heat
The camaraderie of men
The depths of the earth
... his daily reality
When he ascended to earth's surface at the end of his shift
He entered the heart of his domain

In his heart, he was a gypsy
Lover of adventure
Taker of journeys
Fearless of an endless road
Knowing every back road in Southern Arizona
And the treasures they beheld
Usually taking his journeys solo
To explore or to ponder
If invited we would jump at the chance to go along
Not knowing what there was at the end of the road
But knowing there would be a story to tell

In his mind, he was a philosopher
A lover of words
Written or spoken
He used and loved them all like friends
His philosophies of love, acceptance and kindness he shared with us
Anytime we were willing to watch or listen

In his hands, was his power
Immense size they conveyed an obvious strength
Strong enough to crush earth
Bring grown men to their knees
Strong enough to intimidate by balancing his whole body onto
But that was only a disguise
The true power of his hands resided in their grace
Graceful enough to be the first cradle for a newborn addition to the family
Graceful enough to scoop ice cream for you until you burst
Graceful enough to wipe your tear or stroke your hair
Until you felt like everything was going to be all right

In his spirit, he was a volume of contradictions
He was a lover and a fighter
A loner and a family man
A disciplinarian and a teddy bear
He was both the cowboy and the Indian
He analyzed, debated, appreciated and understood both sides
Creating the environment to do the same

Tata is in his brand of heaven now
His Lazyboy chair
Western novel sitting on the arm
Boxing match on the television
A lap generous enough for us all
Finally getting that long awaited hug from his oldest daughter
Able to share an arm wrestle with his son
And nearby, a path beckoning his gypsy heart to go for a stroll

____

Tata's favorite Western book by Louis Lamour: