Searching for Birdie, Audiobook
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Middle Aged (35-54)Accents
North American (US General American - GenAM) US African AmericanTranscript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
Chapter one. Your father was the first person I ever loved. Phyllis said, daddy used to call me puppy because I followed Carl from room to room as soon as I could crawl. He never once shooed me away or teased me or got mad at me and I never stopped following him around. Did I, I would have followed him anywhere? I had the best big brother there ever was. Yes, you did. Auntie Carly said, did you and daddy ever have a real fight? Did you ever get mad enough to spit? Just once Phyllis said what happened, Auntie? He told me he was ready to die. He said, just let me go. Phil, I'll be waiting for you on the other side. I was so angry with him. I wanted him to fight harder. I thought he was giving up. I was so selfish, Carly, he was in so much pain that all I could see was my own hurt. Carly wrapped her aunt in her arms. You do know he forgave you don't you? He would have forgiven his little sister for anything. Please tell me, you know that Phyllis hugged her niece tightly and nodded into her shoulder. Now, Carly Daniels and her Aunt Phyllis sat in the office of her father's attorney waiting to hear the reading of his last will and testament. They were nervous about the reading. They sat calmly remembering the man. They both loved so much. Carl Daniels had been generous in life and they expected no less now that he was gone as was typical of him. They expected his final wishes to be well planned and curt he would cut to the chase. He was not a man fond of flourishes. A life spent in the confines of a ship cabin, instilled order in him. Carl had been the rock of his family, Gibraltar on the coast of each of their hearts. Never one to overspend the words I love you. He preferred instead to demonstrate his love. Carl had been a pack a day smoker as a young man, his packs of kents were omnipresent in the front right pocket of his signature dark blue shirts. He quit smoking cold turkey at the age of 40. But by then, the cancer cells had already made a stealthy home in his body waiting to make their appearance like the dormant monster in a horror movie. It began with a hoarseness that changed the tone of his bare tone voice just slightly. He gargled with warm water and salt like his mother would have recommended he sucked on lemon drops and took Benadryl for allergies. The hoarseness grew deeper and he found himself short of breath when he worked in his yard, the waistbands of his khakis grew loose and his jaws appeared sunken. Carly, a registered nurse noticed the changes in her father, daddy. You have to go to the doctor. Something's going on. I've made you an appointment. She said when he did not resist, Carly, grew more concerned, he had always found it hard to relinquish the role of caregiver to that of the cared for. There is a mass on your lungs. The doctor said we will need to do a biopsy as soon as possible. I'd like to schedule something this week. Carly held her father's hand tightly and wheeled away tears. Let's do it. Carl said simply, he was diagnosed with stage four small cell lung cancer. It was inoperable. The doctors would attack it with chemotherapy and radiation, but the prognosis was not good. His cancer was terminal. The last two years of his life went quickly. It left his family spinning, unable to fathom a life without him. Carl Daniels died at the age of 72 leaving his stunned daughter and his baby sister to mourn him. The man who had seemed invincible was gone before either of them could grasp the certainty of his death. He had been full of life with many blessings, triumphs and one in alterable sorrow. Carl met his diagnosis of imminent death with the same attitude with which he faced all the challenges of his life. He got a second opinion which was identical to the first one. No amount of money could save him. Karl was not a man of faith. So he accepted that prayer would not save him. He approached death practically and with purpose, he revised his will. He submitted his body to the final recommended treatments more for Carly and Phylis sake than his own. He took the drugs to lessen his pain, but they did not prolong his life. The three of them took a final family trip to their beloved Cape Cod where despite being close to death, carl ventured into the still icy June waters up to his knees, his daughter held one arm and his sister the other, he closed his eyes and despite not being religious, he thanked God for his existence. He was grateful for his good fortune, his perfect little girl, his sister and her family, his friends and for the prosperity that he could pass on to them. And finally, Carl prayed that if indeed there really was an afterlife, he would spend eternity with his one great love.