Anthony’s Diary, August 1, 2016

Anthony’s Diary,

August 1, 2016

I think my father-in-law is cracking up.  Today, I was taking the garbage out from the diner over at Mayes Motors and who should I find in the garbage bin but John Patterson, my father-in-law?   He was rolling around in the garbage and he was singing what sounded like Brazilian samba.   I got him out of the garbage and he smelled terrible.  I asked him why he was in the garbage bin and he said he had lost a watch in there.  When I asked if it was an important watch, like a family keepsake, he then told me he lost his car keys in the garbage.  Well, the car keys to his Crevasse were right in his pocket.  When I pointed this out, he started claiming his name was Kevin O’Grady and he had to get to a wedding to meet his wife, Sandy.  Then he started dancing around singing more Brazilian samba.  He seemed crazy. 

I called Elizabeth right away and she came over and calmed her father down.  She told me he had done the exact same thing back when her Uncle Phil and Aunt Georgia got married.  Apparently he had insisted on taking garbage to the wedding and then came to the wedding smelling of garbage and had some excuse about dropping his watch in the garbage bin, so he had to get into the garbage bin and find it.   I am not sure how you can drop a watch into garbage, but that was the story he told back in 1987 apparently.  I asked her who Kevin O’Grady was, and Liz said it was an old dentist her father used to know in town.  He’s retired now.   Does John Patterson think he is Kevin O’Grady?  Why was he in the garbage bin?  Why was he dancing about to Brazilian samba?   Is this something I can expect Elizabeth to do when she gets older? 

It was pretty unnerving.  I hope my father-in-law is all right.  Liz says he has  been acting a little crazy ever since my mother-in-law Elly got back from her trip to Atlin, British Columbia, to spend time at the Atlins Arts Festival.   She went up there with her brother to hear the music and after she came back, she started talking about how she wanted to move to Atlin.  Atlin is this little tiny town in British Columbia and I can’t see Elly moving there.   Liz was afraid if she moved there, then she might expect all of us to move there.  I wasn’t sure how that made any kind of sense, but Liz said it was some sort of family tradition. 

I hope this doesn’t get back to my dad.

Anthony Caine