He is pulled to this place. He has been here before. This is a place rarely but always cautiously journeyed. Occasionally he arrives by invitation, sometime by assignment. Today he is there poking his nose into something not his business. He is here without invitation, a boy’s risky intentional mistake. He stands tip-toed on top of the old wooden shoe shine kit pulled from the back of the closet. Slowly, cautiously, all so quietly, he awkwardly pulls at the loose, cutting, metal handles. He is aware, very aware, and constantly alert to the silence of footsteps in the hallway, the creaking sounds of the loose banister. He has opened his dad’s top drawer. This is a place of wonderment when there with permission. This visit, however, is without approval. It is unsupervised. Today’s visit is driven by uninvited curiosity and accompanied with apprehension a child’s exaggerated anxiety. It is also a nice place, a warm safe place
Follow the stories of Dan, Jim, David, Bob, Peter, Steven, and Dave
- Share their memories of their fathers’ top drawers.
- Read how these memories shape them and their relationships as husbands, fathers and sons.
For when they went searching through their dads’ top drawers as wide-eyed boys, they found more than trinkets, pictures, and mementos. With each uncovered treasure, they learned more about the man they so admired, what he valued most and what they were to become.
Children often don’t know they are opening that drawer.