Mellow Milestones
Dear Jenny, Nathalie and Little Ashley,
One day I hoped you would stumble across this, whether by chance or out of curiosity. For me, I left it too late - too late to ask the questions I so desperately wanted to ask. Kids often don’t think to ask, blinded by the perception that our parents are invincible. I felt I couldn’t ask. He was such a private man. I recollect the sheer joy I got from reading my father’s words when curiosity could no longer be contained. There was not much to read. A book your grandfather wrote that I managed to buy on Amazon. I was so chuffed to find his book I snapped up all the three battered and dusty copies I found. The words were of a man I hardly knew, written before even I was born. His stories engulfed me.
It may be tomorrow, it may be years from now, but I hope that, for whatever reason, you discover this body of work. These are my stories. And this particular piece marks my 100th article here on beBee.com. By the time your curiosity is peaked enough to type the letters Dean Owen in a search bar, the internet may well have been freed from the confines of things we called desktops. You might even be listening to this being read by a droid. It won’t have my accent, but hopefully it will have a friendly voice.
So here are the first hundred.
I started writing for beBee the very first day they launched this publishing platform. Back in April it was. You will not get a complete picture of me, but enough of a picture to understand that dads are not just dads.
I have written on all sorts of subjects. One of my favourites was In Love with Benito, a story about the final days of a mistress of a fascist dictator. In Letters from Manila, I wrote a suicide note from a young pilot to his father on the eve of a one-way mission. The Day I Shot a Tiger and An Interview with a Turtle were fun articles based on trips I took, but with an important message that I feel strongly about. I do hope you enjoy them. I got a bit silly when writing Wanted– Mad Scientist to help me win The Nobel Prize! and Mating Rituals – Homo Sapiens. But hey, Dads can be silly believe it or not. In The Girl that broke my Hand and A Single Breath of Air, you’ll get a glimpse of me before I met you guys. And, well, The Man behind the Father, that was for you.
One of the things that kept me writing was the tremendous support I got from the beBee community. I did not count on having a present day audience, but by golly am I grateful for it. Do read the comments down below each article. They are from people I am truly blessed to have met here. Many of them have blogs just as I have. Click on their names and check out their blogs too! These are my generation. Not too different from yours…
I will continue to write, and hope for another hundo in 2017, but I am here, and anytime you feel curious, talk to me. I know I was not always there for you. But I am here now. I am so proud of you all. Jenny and Nathalie, as you enter adulthood, just remember not to take life too seriously. Little Ashley, I know it will be a while before you read this, but take your time. Don’t grow up too fast Princess Fanpy!
Dad
"
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评论
Dean Owen
7年前 #38
I can't imagine how proud your future grandchildren will be when they discover your prose for themselves.
Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸
7年前 #37
Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸
7年前 #36
Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸
7年前 #35
Dean Owen
7年前 #34
Lyon Brave
7年前 #33
Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸
7年前 #32
Ken Boddie
7年前 #31
mine don't stalk mine, Dean-San, that's for sure. They're too busy on frivolous other SM activities.
Lisa Gallagher
7年前 #30
Welcome back and so, your not perfect? We all have things to work on, good to acknowledge and make changes right. And, we all been fools at times, myself included. Hope you had a nice Holiday! Happy NY!
Dean Owen
7年前 #29
I second you on the stings Ken-san. I do hope that if and when they discover the writings here, they will check to your blog too (are you listening J, N, & A?) as for one, I would surely encourage them to possibly make a move to Australia to experience living in a country that I may not get a chance to live, but a country that should be tops on anyones list. Do you think the kids do stalk our blogs?
Dean Owen
7年前 #28
Oh and thanks for the shares on Twitter etc. After a week off social media I was dumbfounded to have gotten hundreds of notifications on Twitter thanks to you, Lance, and Paul C.
Dean Owen
7年前 #27
Thanks Lisa. Didn't mean this to be a tear jerker. Not such a wonderful man, but I do have time to rectify my past foolishness.
Dean Owen
7年前 #26
I'd happily live anywhere in India knowing that the countryside is just a short train ride away. Apologies for the late response. Took a bit of a beBee break, but am back now and wanting to learn more about the world!
Ken Boddie
7年前 #25
It is truly incredible, Deb \ud83d\udc1d Helfrich.
Ken Boddie
7年前 #24
Lisa Gallagher
7年前 #23
Dean Owen
7年前 #22
Your comment sums up the power of beBee! Wish you a glorious holiday season Deb \ud83d\udc1d Helfrich
Dean Owen
7年前 #21
Wish you and the family well Gert Scholtz. Will be opening a bottle of Bellingham Bernard Series Old Vine today for a pre-Christmas celebration. Those SA whites go great with turkey.
Dean Owen
7年前 #20
Praveen Raj Gullepalli, right now I wish I was in India. The pollution business got real bad this week. Much rather be feasting over a biryani with you than turkey in this haze.
Gert Scholtz
7年前 #19
Dean Owen
7年前 #18
Thank you Javier. Just getting started.
Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸
7年前 #17
Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸
7年前 #16
Dean Owen
7年前 #15
Once again you provide a veritable feast for thought. At one stage in the early days I built my own websites and filled them with content that has all but disappeared. I have thought about a potential for our present day content to be eradicated for whatever reason so I have everything on a Seagate backup drive which will be passed on in the event that.... Another thing I was pondering was that we often hear that we should be careful with our online footprint as it is visible to potential employers, but I never hear that we should also care about our online footprint as our children will also most likely see what we write. I do like the cricket references. I pondered using Century in the title, but figured most people would associate Century with 100 years and not runs (not out)! Thanks CityVP Manjit.
CityVP Manjit
7年前 #14
CityVP Manjit
7年前 #13
CityVP Manjit
7年前 #12
Dean Owen
7年前 #11
Don't we all wish we knew more about our grandparents/parents? No time to waste Anna Magnus, just start typing away! Looking forward to your first Producer buzz! Thanks for stopping by and for the kind words.
Dean Owen
7年前 #10
I must say it's great to see you back here. Hope all is well with you and family.
Dean Owen
7年前 #9
Hopefully... and just like your two boys will too! Great feeling.
Anna Magnus
7年前 #8
Laurent Boscherini
7年前 #7
don kerr
7年前 #6
Dean Owen
7年前 #5
Thanks Sushmita. Sometimes our perceptions of reserved fathers are warranted, but often unfounded. Do talk with your father on every subject you can think of. He may push back sometimes, but be persistent. I would love to know how my parents first met and things like that.
Dean Owen
7年前 #4
Thanks Irene Hackett, it's been a blast. Will make a subtle shift to more video next year. Got me a drone for Christmas so should be able to capture some spectacular aerial footage.
Dean Owen
7年前 #3
From what I have read, clearly you are not a regular guy Pascal. I am slowly being influenced by you to shake off my orange tinted glasses and take a dose of reality. Hey, you must be on 100 too no? Or fast approaching...
Dean Owen
7年前 #2
Are we not the luckiest!? Took me a while to realise though.
Pascal Derrien
7年前 #1