These Sights of Youth

Special Thanks/Image Credit: Iron Age Media

He watched the ships with anticipation. This port was the place where the corporeal and the immortal met. Far off, beyond the sea, was eternity.

Johnny's dad approached him and put a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “How come yer always out here, son?” The father asked. “I'll be sailing from here one day, dad.” The boy replied. “Sailing?” The father said incredulously. “No one sails from out here, my boy. These waters are calm and still. There's nothing for a boat to hitch itself on. This is no port. It's just a distant lake. Nothing sails from here.”

“It's invisible to normal people, dad,” Johnny said. “There’s so much life here! All kinds of people come through this port! This is a place of great adventure.”

“Okay, maybe it is, my boy,” the dad conceded. “But that time is not today. You look off too far into the future. At the moment these waters are calm. They are here for you to enjoy the beauty of God's creation. Such as it is with all natural settings. We come out here to enjoy the beauty of life. The homes man makes for himself are behind us. The bench on which you sit is still on solid ground. And that ground calls you home.”

“Just a few more minutes, dad,” the boy pleaded. “I want to enjoy this moment.”

“Aye, I understand,” the father conceded yet again. “But ye’ can't stay here forever. It's going to get dark soon. And yer mother wants us back for supper.”

“But, dad,” Johnny replied. “It's so beautiful here when the sun goes down. Everything bursts with light! The dock is lit by gas torches! The ships are brighter with their own lights! Can't I stay here longer?”

The father clicked his tongue and shook his head. “I wish ye’ could, my son, but I leave within the hour. And yew need to get home.”

“But ye’ left an hour ago,” the boy said. “I came here to watch the ships with ye’.”

“Aye, you did,” the father replied. “And I'm glad to have this moment with ye’. But ye’ shouldn't be seeing this place at all. Yer mother will be looking for you soon. Please don't make her worry anymore than she already is.”

“Will ye’ come and visit me?” Johnny asked. “The port comes and goes, right? Ye’ can come and visit me and mommy sometime!”

“My boy,” the father said, resigned. “I'm not leaving ye’ or yer mother. I’ll always be with ye’. Ye’ just won't see me. Nor will yer mother. But I will be encouraging ye’ and her every step of the way. Ye’ll come to this port one day and I will welcome ye’ with open arms. Yer grandfather will be there. He's wanted to meet ye’ ever since I wrote to him. He used to tell me about the things he'd see as a boy. Ye’ll have such wonderful stories to share with him. But these sights of youth must give way to the vision of man. Ye’ll be one of the best men to ever live. I have never been more sure of anything in the whole world. When ye’ sail from here, ye’ll have this moment with your son. Until then, ye’ must look at what's in front of ye’, back on the shore. Yer mother is on her way. Please don't make her come down this far.”

“I don't want ye’ to go,” Johnny said. “I don't know what to do. Please don't go. Please.”

The father walked in front of his son and met him at eye level. “John,” the dad said. “Ye’ll know what to do in time. But, ye’ don't need to know that now. All ye’ must do is be what ye’ are at the moment. The rest will fall into place as ye’ get older. Ye’ll stumble. Ye’ll fall. But, I'll pick ye’ up again. It will be just like taking yer first steps. Ye’ have me, yer mother, and Almighty God to help ye’. I can't wait to tell our Mother Mary and the Baby Jesus about ye’. I know he'll be as enamored with ye’ as I am.”

“What am I at the moment, daddy?” Johnny asked.

“My son,” the father replied. “Just be a good son to your mother for me. Let her see the wonderful man I know ye’ will be. Take care of her, please. She's worried sick about ye’.”

A ship's horn sounded off in the distance. Thousands of souls walked past the young man and his father as the carrier agent yelled, “All aboard!”

The father took a look at his son one last time. Neither spoke a word to each other. The boy hugged his daddy before he boarded. The father held him for only a moment. But to one another this snapshot of time would last until the next voyage.

“I love ye’, son.” The father said. He gave his baby boy a wink before joining the crowd. The boy stood up from the bench and looked for his dad in the sea of faces boarding the ship. The carrier agent checked the name of each person boarding for their name on his list.

“JOHNNY?!” The boy's mother shouted, worried sick.

Upon hearing his mother's voice, Johnny saw his dad walking the ramp to board the ship. His father gave a quick wave of goodbye before boarding. Just when he thought his pop was gone forever he poked his head out again and shooed the boy off with a smile. A corporeal hand grabbed his shoulder. Upon contact, the port disappeared. “Johnny,” his mother said behind him. “We've got to get back home! Father O'Donnell is going to give yer father the last rites. Let's go!”

The two walked back toward the cottage in the distance. The port had shifted back into the lake it always was. It was still and calm just like his father said it would be. But Johnny had to look back one last time…just to be sure.