Day 204

Daddy may not have been famous or well-known, but the children’s librarians at the local Mattituck-Laurel Library knew him. Every year, at the start of summer, he and Mom used to stand on line to enroll my son in the summer reading programs. They also signed him up for whatever programs he’d enjoy when he came to visit. My son is a reader, and like most librarians, they like kids who read. Since we are a family that loves books, a family that reads probably more than the average family, we spend quite a bit of time at the library. And Dad —  those of you who knew him, know this is true — was social. He talked to everyone, and he always said what he was thinking. Sometimes that was a good thing, sometimes it wasn’t. But people who met him and spent time with him, never forgot him.

Some time in July, I walked into the children’s library in Mattituck. The head librarian — even though I don’t live out here — immediately recognized me and asked me how I was. She then asked about my parents, saying she was just speaking with the other librarian about my parents and how it was odd they hadn’t seen them yet this summer. So I told her that Dad died. That Covid killed him. As I spoke, tears filled my eyes, but I wasn’t the only one crying. The librarian was sad to find out about Dad, because she liked him. Because he had made an impression on her.

To honor my father, she told me to select a book that had meaning for him. She would order it — any book I named — and put a dedication inside for my father. It is the way they celebrate the lives of patrons who have died. There was no question which book we’d choose. When my son was in pre-school and just learning to read, he and Dad loved reading the Piggy and Elephant books together. Dad always read Elephant’s lines and my son read Piggy’s. One night I recorded them reading ARE YOU READY TO PLAY OUTSIDE. It’s one of my favorite videos. Sometimes, when I miss Dad the most and just want to hear his voice, I play it. It makes me cry, but is also makes me happy. 

The book finally came in last week and my son and I wrote the dedication: “In Memory of Gary Alan Jaeger. He very much enjoyed reading Piggy & Elephant books with his grandson.”