A few days ago, my sister found some old videos in the storage room downstairs. So we borrowed a VCR the other night and decided to watch what we found. Beside some hilarious school projects (see Facebook for details), we found one tape in particular that really blew my mind.
I don’t know why, but in February 1985, a friend of my parents decided it would be a good idea to set up his new video camera in the living room of his apartment, and film casual get-togethers and birthday parties. Strange, but it was 1985. So we started watching a tape of my parents, along with the parents of my childhood friends, just hanging out. And it was the first time in my life that I ever heard my father’s voice.
My dad died in December 1985, about 10 months after the video was recorded, and about 4 months before I was born. I’ve never seen anything more of him than old photos. To watch him interact with other people and hear his voice was surreal. And beside him being a very stylish guy, my favorite part was realizing how funny he was. He was the type of guy to make sarcastic jokes with a straight face; or just make fun of you to your face. Not in a harsh way, but in the “I have my arm around you, but it’s not because I’m being endearing; it’s because I’m mocking you.” Basically, it was my kind of humor. And I loved it.
I don’t know if humor is genetic, but for me to have his same sense of humor without ever meeting him is pretty cool. I was reading a book the other day, and the author included the following: “…if you put two violins next to each other and plucked a string on one, the same string on the other violin would vibrate. Music was a sound wave. The string responded to its own wave, its note.” And I think that’s the relationship I have with my dad. I don’t really know what he was like, but I have a feeling we’re pretty similar…in more ways than our chins. And I feel like there are few people in the world where that kind of connection exists; especially when you’re an odd violin like myself. It’s like God didn’t want people to forget what my dad was like, so He put his character in me. That’s why we’re both named Selbouez.
I’ll never understand why God does certain things, but I pray that I never doubt His plan.
4 comments:
this made me cry. you're really lucky you have that video, like a special gift God wanted you to have
This is really beautiful.
ok. now im crying in the classroom. i keep bending down, pretending i need to pick something up so the kids dont see me cry. p.s. i love Jesus...because he made you.
you brought tears into my eyes SELBOUEZ.
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