Would you happen to know my son?

November 24, 2005 11:15 AM

"The artist would perch himself on a bench in the town square, sketchbook and pencil in hand. In between doodles of his beloved wife and 'Miss Kitty', the pet cat, he'd fill page after page with the other subjects that consumed him: The panhandlers who sat under elm trees hungering for pocket change as lovers strolled to dinner and children played on the grass ... Sometimes, the vagrants he studied would notice the pencil and book and hesitantly approach. He'd share his drawing. They'd talk. Sooner or later, the artist would brave the question: Would you happen to know my son?"
posted by mr_crash_davis (15 comments total)

Wow. Powerful, poignant and timely. Would love to see those drawings. Thanks Crash.
[.]
posted by HyperBlue at 11:27 AM on November 24, 2005

Very touching and sad. Thanks for the story.
posted by V4V at 11:33 AM on November 24, 2005

Excuse me while I go hug my sons. Thanks.
posted by LarryC at 11:34 AM on November 24, 2005

Heartbreaking. Great post.
posted by alteredcarbon at 11:36 AM on November 24, 2005

I'm sure getting up and leaving angrily just moments after his son called after him had something to do with the fact that he decided not to call out in the future.
posted by setanor at 11:42 AM on November 24, 2005

"Jimmy's 45th Birthday. He was doing real well. But then he made bad choices in friends and lifestyle and he is where he is because of it. Happy Birthday Jimmy."

That is sad in so many ways.
posted by tracicle at 11:45 AM on November 24, 2005

Then one day, while drunk, he fell on the pavement and suffered a head injury, leaving him hospitalized for months and partially brain damaged.

That likely explains a lot.
posted by five fresh fish at 12:00 PM on November 24, 2005

I'm sure getting up and leaving angrily just moments after his son called after him had something to do with the fact that he decided not to call out in the future.

Definitely, but to expect him to react like the father in the Prodigal Son parable ("wow, you're back? no problem, all is forgiven") may be asking too much. People routinely act differently from how they want to act- how about after someone you've feared was dead for years suddenly shows up? Understandable, but regrettable.
posted by Maxson at 12:19 PM on November 24, 2005

Well that was certainly depressing.
posted by chunking express at 12:55 PM on November 24, 2005

Touching, but a little disturbing too. Maybe I'm too cynical. (Speaking of which, did anybody else get a pop-over flashesque advertisement featuring old animated disney characters over the article? Somebody needs to reign in the program they've got auto-assigning advertisements based on word association. Creepy).
posted by SomeOneElse at 3:02 PM on November 24, 2005

As the father of a toddler, it's hard to imagine even the remote possibility that we could ever lose contact with one another. So sad.
posted by planetkyoto at 3:38 PM on November 24, 2005

The birthday cards, so different from those sent to the boy who liked lions. 'Jimmy's 45th Birthday. He was doing real well. But then he made bad choices in friends and lifestyle and he is where he is because of it. Happy Birthday Jimmy.'

He wrote that on a birthday card? Charming stuff.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 4:27 PM on November 24, 2005

This was a lovely article, albeit rather depressing as most others have noted. Thank you.
posted by nonmerci at 6:33 PM on November 24, 2005

In all fairness, the son didn't 'show up', either. He wasn't reaching out for help, the father happened to see him on the street while driving by.
posted by Simon! at 7:38 PM on November 24, 2005

Then one day, while drunk, he fell on the pavement and suffered a head injury, leaving him hospitalized for months and partially brain damaged.

That likely explains a lot.

Not to mention the booze and nose candy years before.
posted by hal9k at 12:56 AM on November 25, 2005