If you could sit on this bench and chat for 1 hour with anyone from the past or present, who would it be..??
I think that my choice would be my father. He was an 8-handicap golfer who loved the game, and at the age of 69 he retired from his business and sent my mother down to Florida to purchase a golf condominium at Hollybrook G & C Club, west of Hollywood. Before he even got down to see the condo he died suddenly of a massive heart attack, which happened when I was in another city, so I never got the chance to say goodbye, God speed. He didn't know my wife was pregnant with my son, who we then named after my father. I would like to tell him about the grandson he never knew, about his great-grandchildren, and about my life's adventures, particularly how almost 9 years ago, like Bilbo Baggins, I started my life over again with a whole new adventure, even though I was already 69.
I had thought of persons from history, like Spinoza, Jane Austin, David Ben Gurion, Orson Welles, Leonardo da Vinci....but I made my choice.
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I made my choice, and why I did. What would be yours, but please give a reason why, not just a name.
Concur Buzz- my Dad also- way too many unfinished conversations and too many "silent times" left undone.
Without a doubt my father.
Obviously I miss our conversations greatly.
My husband...don't think I need to explain why.
Wow, it only took around two hours to knock this article off the Front Page. I'm glad to see so many members making contributions to the site.
Pretty hard to believe too Buzz. I thought it was a great seed by the way.
There area few that I would love to sit and talk with. My gggrandfather and ggrandfather, who lived though some of the trying times for them and the U.S.
Will Rogers, his wit was something to behold.
Ahhhh, and NikolaTesla, a genius of the highest order.
There are a couple of more, but this group is good for a start.
No Buzz, I can't just pick one.
I believe that not a lot of people are familiar with Nikola, Feronia. The man was truly a genius. What a conversation that would be.
My grandfather was born somewhere between 1875 and 1880..I had many conversations with him before he walked on. His father and fathers father were born around 1855 to 1860, and around 1835 or so. No one is really sure of the dates. The stories passed on to me were astounding. I did write many of the events that they experienced down, and now my children have them.
Another that I would love to talk to is, Edmondia Lewis, sculptor. Many of her great works are lost, and little was known about here, but in the 20th century there was a renewed interest in her work...One of the most famous sculptors was, ''The Death of Cleopatra''.
Buzz
Sorry I missed this earlier
I would also choose my dad....
There are so many things that he was right about (though I did not see it at the time), so many things that he told me that I ignored at the time, but wish I had paid better attention and I now know that being a father is not as easy as he made it seem.
I would just like to tell him those things and perhaps get some more advice and counsel - some days I could sure use it.
I know the exact feeling Robert. I really do.
I don't want a mere chat . I want some influence with the chief of police . I want someone to complain to the next time a cop pulls a gun on me without provocation .
I would sit with my Daddy. I would hold his hands and tell him how very much I love and miss him. I would ask his advice, and tell him that, 30 years after he died, his words still ring true.
And then, I'd want another hour, or two...
Yes . And I'm not black .
I think it's really great that so many of us would want that hour with our fathers, even though we have a choice of any person in all of history or the present. It speaks of the bond that is formed, and of the regret that we have that we might never have told him how important he was in our lives, how much we owe to him, how much we may have loved him but never really showed it,and to show him as well that his descendants continue to flourish.
So rather than thinking of this as abusive police actions you choose to make this a personal insult . Instead of examining this as an example where police are not racist but merely abusive you choose to be a piece of work . No wonder you are considered extremely stupid ... by many on the site .
COME ON GUYS! Why do you have to try to turn a perfectly innocent article into a mudslinging fight? This is the reason so many are turning away from the Front Page.
If I had the power to do so I would delete the whole damn conversation between the two of you.
You are fortunate, Feronia, to have the opportunity to speak with your father and tell him the things that many of us wish we had the chance to do.
If you built a Tesla coil, there is no way you could not be a fan of Nikola..
Edmondia was a very interesting person. I remember an article some time back that when she was in Rome, that she did have contact with someone that was well know at the time. I can't remember who it was though...(old age)
I was fortunate to know that my father was dying, and had the time to tell him how much I loved him. BUT, that was 30 years ago, and I am a different person now... I would love to know what he thinks of this or that, and if he knows of my son and my dear husband. I just still want to tell him how much I love him...
My grandfather on my mother's side. He arrived here in America in the early 1900's at age 6 with his parents from Finland to Ellis Island and over the course of his years he built himself up from, with a 7th grade education, to the millionaire co-owner of one of the largest road contracting business' the mid-west. I never got tired of hearing his stories of how he did it, all of the different jobs he did before (picking sugar beets in ND, being a bellhop in Minneapolis) and would love to hear more. To me American immigrant stories are fascinating.
When my father was dying of lung cancer I flew back to Michigan to visit with him at the hospice center (great people there!). The last night he was fully conscious I got to spend a couple of hours with him and me by ourselves. We talked a lot of things over. There were apologizes from both sides and lots of tears and joking around. Later that night he went into a coma and passed away two days later without waking up again. We were both so, so lucky. We both got to say our goodbyes the way we wanted to. A couple of my sisters were upset that I never went back, but we had already said all there was to say. That's how I wanted to remember him. Not staring at him out cold, wondering if his next gasp was going to be his last. I didn't want to see him like that. We already had our couple of hours on the bench.
You were lucky to have that time with him. I didn't have it with either of my parents, or with my very best friend, who died at the age of 48.
This really brings to light how much an impact a father can have with their kids. Makes you also understand what kind of hole is left to fill when there isn't a father around.
You're very fortunate Fly. Also what you say is very true for those who don't have a father around.
In those days it wasn't easy. There was no welfare, only the will to survive and make the most of oneself Randy. No special treatment from society. Each person was dependent for himself and herself and I think it promote better character in them for having the hardships they had to overcome.
There's no way I could choose one person to sit on that bench and chat with. Of course my father would be at the top of the list, but most of my relatives were simple people who had to work to survive and only a few became wealthy in a financial way. I think I would rather go back in time when we were all children and experience growing up with them.
Both of my parents died way before their time. I'm actually older now than either of them were when they passed on. Both were taken before they reached retirement age.
I was able to talk to my mother as her illness lasted for several years, but my father died a sudden death and I would like to than him for all he did for me and being such a good father when I didn't even realize it.
Jesus
An unusual choice, rougy. Would you like to tell us why?
Yep, she is a "looker" and I understand started that hair style. I once had a cat that owned me for 17 years and just as you said, I would give so much just to hold him in my arms again - he was like family to me, so I understand your feeling about Tess.
My pick? Just scroll up and look at the original article at the top of the page, right under the bench picture. The only thing I forgot to say about my dad was that he had never picked up a golf club until he was in his 50s, but whatever he did, he always did it well.
Mine would be my dad too. If I knew ahead of time I would compose a few questions I'd like to ask.
The Prophet JC, before his public life. There is so much unknown about him considering he went public at 30.
I notice that nobody has selected Adolf Hitler.
I know we all tend to focus on the noble, the beautiful, the world renowned philosophers;
But the villains, while not as romantic, would be equally fascinating to speak with, albeit for totally different reasons.
One of the big issues with villains is that they are often great liars . Philosophers by contrast are mostly renowned for expounding on great truths even if abstract . So unless you are an expert at ferreting out the lies it is better to stick with the truth tellers ...
Only if I had the opportunity to pour gasoline on him and light him on fire. I'm not interested in hearing whatever he has to say, nor to waste my breath to tell him anything.
I would like to sit on that bench and talk with my mother who left us when I was 5due to my father being VERY abusive to her in every way imaginablewhen I was 5, and never heard from her again. I would like to know if she ever fond happiness, I hope she did.
Dear Friend Buzz of the Orient: Great topic.
My father and I were very close.
Fortunately, we both made sure there was no unfinished business in his time here.
I would select Rabbi Hillel.
There are questions I have about his work theosophically.
E.
Bless your heart, Nona. I know one thing-- she has never stopped thinking of you...
Good for you, Dear Enoch ! You're so kind, I wouldn't mind chatting with you for an hour on that bench.
Dearest Dowser, I'm sure she thought about all of us kids, and felt so guilty about not taking even one of us. My youngest sister was only 1 y/o when she left. We understand that she just couldn't take any of us, she had no money, nojob.and she didn't evenknow how to drive, he had complete control over her every move.
I'm sure that she is happy to knowthat her daughters will never let any manbe abusive to them in any way, shape or form.
Conversely, one can also make a case that those fascinated with the lives of Hitler, Stalin, Dahmer, etc, have a preoccupation with macabre individuals. True, while each of those people may have their own story, given the fact that it could only be ONE individual from all of history, I would never waste that opportunity on the likes of evil.