MY COLORFUL DAD

As I stare out my window I cannot help but feel sorry for the naked trees.  The magical colors of Fall have disappeared, and I find myself spending more time indoors curled up on the couch with a cup of coffee.  I need something to bring warmth and color to my day and so I remember my Dad....

(This article was originally published in the 1995 Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic.  Since I wrote it I thought I could share it on my blog....hope it makes you smile.)

The clock by his bedside revealed it was midnight, but even at this late hour his tired body could not rest.  Jim looked over at his wife sleeping peacefully and knew he should not wake her.  These were the hours that he dreaded to face alone.  The pain kept him up most of the night until the pills finally kicked in and allowed him to rest a few hours.  He remembered the drafting table, paints, and brushes his family bought him so that he could paint when he was unable to sleep.  Jim could not even trace a straight line, but the challenge of painting helped to take his mind off the pain.  He grabbed his robe and slippers and descended the staircase to his office where the canvas he had been working on for the last eight weeks was waiting for him.  He could finish it tonight if only his fingers were not so numb.  The harsh chemotherapy made his hands and feet feel like they were asleep.  As he sat in front of the picture he was creating, his physical inadequacies seemed to disappear.  Finishing this picture would be a triumph of the human spirit.  The very spirit that enabled him to face cancer everyday.  And so he painted until the sun came up, when finally his wife beckoned him to come to bed.  He climbed the stairs with a smile of satisfaction on his face.  His first piece of artwork was complete.

On February 19, 1993, the Valvano house was filled with family and friends for the unveiling of Jim's masterpiece.  There was champagne, food, love, and laughter.  In the den, a spotlight shone on a small frame covered by a silk pillowcase.  Jim proudly sat on one side of his painting and greeted all of the guests.  He wore a red and green beret, mirrored sunglasses, and a bow tie to add some class to the dignified affair.  The guest list included the people that had been by his side helping him fight cancer.  The men in the room not only played golf and went on trips together, but they did their share of sitting by Jim's bedside when he felt too sick to go out.  This was a night when Jim's close friends gathered together to celebrate his victory.

Once again, he had beaten the odds and brought light to a dark situation.  Jim told a few funny stories to get the crowd warmed up, and then the moment was at hand.  The lights were dimmed, the glasses were raised, and the pillowcase was lifted to reveal Brown Boat.  The audience began to ask questions of the artist, but he simply shook his head and refused to answer.  Jim smirked as he explained, "I am a slave to my muse.  I cannot explain the meaning of my work, you must interpret it for yourselves."  Every visitor got a chance to wear their own beret and sunglasses and have their picture taken with the artist and his creation.

As word spread of Jim's painting ability, orders began to pour in for future works.  Pam Valvano wanted an elephant painting, Pat McCann requested rabbits, and Jim wanted to paint kittens for John Saunder's daughter, Aleah.  Immediately following his animal stage, he planned to enter an abstract period, and finish his career painting nudes.  He wife was disturbed at the thought of him painting beautiful women naked, but Jim assured her that he was going to be the one naked not the models.  Although he was unable to finish all of these paintings, he certainly made a powerful statement with his short career as an artist.  Brown Boat represents Jim's creative, energetic, and mysterious spirit.  Not even pain, fear, sickness, or his wife's constant admonitions to not get paint everywhere could keep Jim from adding color to everything he touched. 

I miss you Dad!!!!



Me and the Artist