{"id":3359,"date":"2013-06-01T15:05:13","date_gmt":"2013-06-01T19:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/?p=3359"},"modified":"2013-06-06T18:36:23","modified_gmt":"2013-06-06T22:36:23","slug":"missing-my-dad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/2013\/06\/poetry-in-motion\/missing-my-dad\/","title":{"rendered":"Missing My Dad"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"JunePoem1\"<\/a>How many of you had similar childhoods as mine? Dad\u2019s truck was hypnotizing to me. When he came home, I would be all over that truck, studying the moves dad made as he maneuvered it, and investigating any new gadgets he may have added to it. I loved the smell of it, the sound of it, and the sight of it. As a matter of fact, I\u2019m even assembling one of my own trucks to resemble one of his that impressed me so much. I remember countless hours spent in the cab of his truck, pretending to drive off to far-away places that I loved to go with him. Sometimes, he would even play along with me and get in the passenger seat and act as though I was teaching HIM how to drive. He would ask me what each of the gauges were for, and what function the switches performed \u2013 he would make sure I was looking at the mirrors and gauges, frequently, like a good driver does. And there, in the driveway, we would head off to anywhere we chose. I used to invite my friends over to play in the truck, and although it was fun for them, too, it occurs to me that they were not as well-traveled as I was, so it was harder for them to imagine the places we were pretending to go. Father\u2019s Day is coming soon and I am recalling those moments that my dad shared with me that were such a huge influence on my life. Sometimes, I wish I could take more \u201cdriveway runs\u201d with my dad (they were nearly as important to me as the actual trips I got to go on with him). Happy Father\u2019s Day to the dads out there. Please take the time to positively include \u2013 and influence \u2013 your kids in what you do. It will stick with them long after you\u2019re gone.<\/p>\n

THE DRIVEWAY RUN
\nBy Trevor Hardwick<\/h3>\n

\"JunePoem2\"<\/a>I fell asleep last night in some strange town,
\nIt\u2019d been a long hard day, of hammer-down.
\nI crawled into my bed, above the sheets,
\nTo the sound of traffic, on the streets.<\/p>\n

My mind then drifted to a summer day,
\nI was in my yard, with friends, at play.
\nSuddenly, my dad pulled \u2018round the bend,
\nI just stopped, and watched, that rig roll in.<\/p>\n

All my friends would also lose their minds,
\nWe would leave our toys, and bikes behind.
\nDad\u2019s old rig, shined brightly in the sun,
\nHis long run, was finally over, and done.<\/p>\n

He pulled in and set the brakes so loud,
\nI approached, and I was oh, so proud.
\nThe door swung open, he said, \u201chey, young man,\u201d
\n\u201cGrab these bags, and give your dad a hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

He climbed down, and I would hug his leg,
\n\u201cCan I get in the truck,\u201d he\u2019d hear me beg.
\n\u201cSuit yourself, just don\u2019t get lost,\u201d he\u2019d smile,
\nAnd I would lose myself, in pretend miles.<\/p>\n

I could smell the armor-all he sprayed,
\nAnd I could see the bed, was neatly made.
\nPeacock feathers, hanging from the fan,
\nCigarette ashes, in a soda can.<\/p>\n

Glitter switches matched the gearshift knob,
\nI couldn\u2019t dream, of any cooler job.
\nI could barely grip, the big round wheel,
\nAnd I cannot describe, the way I feel.<\/p>\n

In my driveway I would travel far,
\nOn the super slab, in dad\u2019s largecar.
\nPlug an 8-track in, and feel the beat,
\nPush the button, raise the air-ride seat.<\/p>\n

Head out west and cross the desert bare,
\nThen head south, without a single care.
\nHead up north, into the blinding snow,
\nI went anywhere, I\u2019d like to go.<\/p>\n

Cruise the truck stop lot with lights aglow,
\nSeeing old friends, that I used to know.
\nIdle \u2018round, and keep my speed real slow,
\nPark this \u2018Shaker, in the far back row.<\/p>\n

The lot is busy and it never fails,
\nThe CB crackles, with old drivers\u2019 tales.
\nI shut the engine down, turn the dome light on,
\nI\u2019ve lost track of, how long I\u2019ve been gone.<\/p>\n

I fell asleep at home in dad\u2019s old rig,
\nJust a little boy, who felt so big.
\nI crawled into his bed, above the sheets,
\nTo the sound of traffic, on the streets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How many of you had similar childhoods as mine? Dad\u2019s truck was hypnotizing to me. When he came home, I would be all over that truck, studying the moves dad made as he maneuvered it, and investigating any new gadgets he may have added to it. I loved the smell of it, the sound of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3359","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-poetry-in-motion"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3359"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3436,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3359\/revisions\/3436"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}