I Guess He Approves

This past April, about a week before the ninth anniversary of the day my dad died, I took Jersey to the cemetery in California. I figured it would be the best way to really "introduce" them and any resulting lightning or earthquakes would clue me in to his disapproval of our relationship. If there were no natural disasters following the visit, I'd take that as tacit approval. I should probably also preface this story by saying that I don't cry or see my cemetery trips as a sad thing. It's just like I'm swinging by my dad's place to say hi and clean up a bit. I usually spend a minute catching up with his "next door neighbor", and I've been known to bring my dad a cookie.

So, on this particular day, I was in a good mood and only a tiny bit nervous about bringing Jersey. It was a gorgeous afternoon in Southern California, so we had the sunroof open and the classic rock on the radio. I pulled into the cemetery and it wasn't until I saw a gathering to my left that I realized I needed to turn down the music and close my sunroof. Don't worry, I got no glares from the funeral, so I don't think I interrupted anything, but I did realize that I was pushing it by rocking out in such a quiet place. It was only as I reached for the volume that I realized what song was playing: AC/DC's "Highway to Hell". Nice, Dad. Really funny. Now, for the first time since the funeral, I was in tears at the cemetery...this time out of pure laughter.

I parked the car and Jersey and I walked toward my dad. I made the proper introductions, she said hello, and all went well. Then I showed her the hole that I call his "escape hatch" (I believe it's for flowers or something, though it would be better if it were one of those tube tunnels like they have at the bank). My family has always joked that we have to be careful of the escape hatch, just in case he decides to play a trick on us. But on this day, I noticed that some grass had grown over the escape hatch, almost completely blocking it. At first I reached for it, to clean it the same way I clean his stone, but then I realized that it was probably better to leave it blocked. Jersey and I laughed and headed back for the car, everything having gone perfectly. Then I started the car and listened to the song that had just started on the same classic rock station: "Break on Through" by the Doors. Sorry, there is no way I'm cleaning off that hole.