My Dad, Marvyn Derwent Clark, was born in Freedom, Alberta on April 29, 1920, during the last big flu pandemic. It was a time, when almost a quarter of the earth’s population, was infected with a deadly influenza. The Spanish flu, as it became known, was responsible for the death’s of possibly 50 million people and some even estimate that it was as high as 100 million.The exact number is unclear, due to the lack of medical record keeping at that time. What we do know though, is that the Spanish Influenza pandemic killed more people than the First World War, which has been called “The Great War.”
I can’t imagine what my grandparents, Robert and Florence Clark must have been feeling. The First World War had just ended and now the world was facing a deadly pandemic. Pregnant women, babies and young children, were particularly vulnerable and faced a higher risk of flu related complications. Although they must have been thrilled to be expecting their first child, (my Dad) that time must have been fraught with fear and a great sense of trepidation for them.
My Dad survived however and even made it through a virulent bout of Scarlet Fever as a child, although it’s believed to have impaired his hearing. He went on to live through the Great Depression, the Second World War, the Cuban missile crisis and finally mourned with the rest of the world, when John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was assassinated on November 22, 1963. He died before Neil Armstrong walked on the moon on July 20, 1969 and before I turned six.
Top Row left to right, my mom Ethel and then his sister Elsie, holding my parents first daughter, their “Bonnie,” baby and my big sister…and then his parents Flossie and Bob Clark
He was a son, a brother, an uncle, a husband, a friend to many, and my Dad.
My oldest sister B was born in January of 1947 and over the next almost 13 years my parents would have three more daughters
If he had lived, he would be turning 100 years old today. (April 29th 2020) I can’t help but wonder what he would think of the state of our world, as we experience something unprecedented in my lifetime; the COVID-19 global pandemic. Although advances in both science and technology have changed the earth tremendously since he passed away, this viral pandemic has reminded us all that we are not invincible. We can still be brought to our knees with the realization that we don’t have all the answers and the only thing that keeps us going is the hope that we will get through it.
My Dad was killed in a company truck accident, fifty five years ago (1965) this coming September. Interestingly, I write this blog post on our Province’s day of mourning for victims who were injured or died in a work place accident. That was the fate of my Dad. My life has been defined by his passing but the older I get, I realize that with him leaving, he taught me more in his absence than if I had had him for my whole life.
I learned from an early age to be independent and behind all my successes was my desire to make Dad proud. Also, from an early age I started searching for the meaning of life, trying to figure out why we come to earth, what our purpose is while we are here, and where the heck do we go when we die. If I had had a normal childhood, my father blissfully intact in our household, I don’t think I would have been a seeker.
After the birth of our last four children, late in my life, the answers to these life’s questions became clear. I know where my Dad is NOW and I know what my purpose is too. My Dad is right here with me and my sisters. He’s cheering us all on and so proud of his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He never left us in the true sense of the word. I also know what my purpose is now; to never lose hope and to remember that loving each other is what it’s all about.
There is nothing more important.
If we can remember these two things; to be hopeful and loving, then the world will continue on. It may never look the same again, as the world surely changed after the last big pandemic one hundred years ago, but I’m hoping that this big shake up, allows us to slow down and take a good look at the path we’ve been walking and realize, what truly matters.
The collective consciousness is shifting and there is no going back. People are waking up and are starting to move in harmony for the sake of our planet and for all living things on our earth. What do you think about that for a 100 year old birthday present Dad?
Pretty cool hey? The other gift I want to give you is a place to record one of your poems that you left behind. You titled it to mom but it was a gift to us, your daughters, as well. I know you had wanted to be a published writer and now you are. Here is your poem:
To My Wife
In the still of the night, when silence
overcomes life’s busy noise, heavy and dense
on these pages as in my heart, reveal
the love, the thoughts and all I feel.
Thru the busy years of the past,
never daunted, my love steadfast,
heartaches and sorrow, a spectre content
to blight the joys, the days, the instant.
My strength in purpose for you alone
errors in judgment I must atone,
strive ever forward, my hopes ever in quest
resolving ever to better, before I rest.
My eyes never so blind, still to see
your hopes unfailing in an unspoken plea
but the mind and heart not in tune
from harshness and reality never immune.
The days and hours stride in remorseless speed
diminishing the chances, the moments I need
to savour the pleasures, the results of toil
conceived in the mind, heart against all recoil.
My desires and love for all of you
have been undaunted ever to renew
the struggle for contentment and peace
when in completion will my thoughts know success.
Misunderstanding and conclusions will prevail
as long as man remains in this earthly jail
but God gave us prayer and his trust
to overcome our problems severe and unjust.
While you lay slumbering in your bed
and all the little ones lay down their head
up here I sit while far into the night
of love and hope for you, I write.
Somewhere on life’s relentless trail
in search for happiness I did fail
from my heart goes this silent plea
give me strength and eyes to see.
Memories I have of father and mother
love I shared with sister and brother
when you made me your very own
did you love me, for me alone.
Maybe life will wash us fast
as the tides of the sea and the past
to find us on far shores apart
will then solace come to a broken heart.
The trail ahead grows dim, I cannot see
my heart is heavy, hear my plea
grant me the strength to leave behind
my children, my wife, my love so blind.
~Marv Clark~
So Happy Birthday Dad!!!
I’m ending this post with a link to a short video I found, that reminds me that love never ends, even with the passage of time. Which I think is very appropriate as we celebrate the anniversary of your birth, a hundred years ago.
Here’s the movie dedicated to you Dad. You loved creating home movies and also loved the accordion. This short film reminds me of you in so many ways and also my feelings for this special father/daughter relationship…it goes on and on.
Click on this hyperlink to view the Oscar Winning film called, “Father and Daughter – by M. Dudok de Wit”
Wow….and if you can stand more, wipe the tears away and listen to a final song in tribute to your birthday.
I say once again…….
Happy Birthday Dad!
My big sister B says that you loved the Tennessee Waltz but I couldn’t find a good YouTube link so I am ending this post with a song that speaks to me….I hope you like it too.
We’ll Meet Again…….
Love you,
Forever and always,
Hope
aka Debra Lee