My Old Man
An expository character profile
My dad has found himself as the subject of a character profile. It was
fun interviewing my whole family to write this fun piece. The tone of
this piece reflects the type of fun and loving relationship I have with
my family.
Sprawled out across the lightly tan carpet lay my notes and study guides. The United States History textbook is open to chapter twenty seven. Flipping through page after page, I begin to get frustrated. How am I supposed to know what caused the oil crisis in the 1970s? I wasn’t there but I know someone who was: my father, Edward Maguire, has graced this earth for over half a century now. Being the great father that he is, I know that he would not only help me with my homework, but he would do anything for me and my family.
I walk down the stairs. As I get closer to the kitchen, I hear the sound of the salad dressing bottles hitting the linoleum floor. I notice that the faded white door of the twenty year old refrigerator is wide open. No one is around. The side bar that holds the shelves has fallen. The last person to open this fridge was my dad. He had forgotten to shut the door. He had simply got his food and walked away, completely forgetting about closing the refrigerator door. This would not be the first time that my father has experienced memory loss. It is not his fault; I believe he is just getting old, and is starting to lose his memory. I would consider leaving the tea pot on the stove for over forty five minutes as a clear sign of memory loss.
Working twelve hours a day, five nights a week and only getting six of hours or less of sleep a night might deteriorate your memory too. According to my mother, Tina Maguire, “His hours are long and hard. He works long hours so we can have things. He could work eight hours a day and not go on vacation.” The whole family looks forward to the annual vacation to Walt Disney World. “No matter how tight money is, we always go on vacation,” states Tina. Going to Disney World ten times may seem like too much. For my dad, it is more than just getting to see Mickey Mouse or riding roller coasters; it is about having a retreat from work, where he can escape with this family. The vacation never ends; from the time we step off the plane in Albany Airport, next year’s vacation is already in the works. My dad is the lead role in the planning process. He takes a democratic approach; he always gets everyone’s opinion before he makes a decision. It is a family vacation, and my father makes sure that everyone is involved. ”He makes us take surveys on where we want to eat to make dinner reservations,” says Tina. My dad just wants to make sure that everyone is happy, especially when it comes to where we are going to eat. Dinner reservations are the most exciting part of the vacation for my dad.
It is no surprise that my father takes dinner reservations seriously. Food has been an unusually high priority in his life. His diet is somewhat frightening. According to his son, Jason Maguire, his diet consists of “Ice cream…pastries, [baked goods], m&m’s, popcorn, and Five Guys.” My dad loves his food. Even though his diet is horrendous he is in perfect shape. Perfect shape, excludes the memory loss, hearing loss, and loss of vision. He may just have selective hearing though. There are two times a year that my father loves: Christmas and Easter. Christmas and Easter are an interesting sight in the Maguire household. Stockings and Easter baskets are filled with candy. My father manages to get his own basket and stocking, filled with candy. It is almost as if my mother has three children instead of two. According to Tina Maguire “He eats nonstop, you can never clean up the kitchen, because the kitchen never closes.” Apparently the refrigerator door never closes either.
The refrigerator is old. It is as old as my parents marriage; not nearly as old my father though. My mom describes my father as being the “...calm one…the voice of reason…he fixes problems with no complaints.” The one problem that my father refuses to fix is the refrigerator. In my father’s aging mind, he believes that a fridge that has shelves that fall, drawers that won’t open, and a light that doesn’t work, as not being broken. My mother happens to completely disagree with this. I guess she can’t argue with his logic. The fridge does the job of keeping the food cold. It would be nice to have a more modern fridge, like one that dispenses ice from the door. One day that fridge will break, and when it does my father won’t be upset. He will do what he always does: fix the problem with no complaints.
I can count on my father for many things. I know that every August we will go to Disney World as a family. He will continue to take dinner reservations seriously. He will not replace that fridge until there is absolutely no life left in it. I know that when the fridge finally does break, he will replace it. I know that he will continue to forget things, like turning off the tea pot, or leaving the refrigerator door open. He will work twelve hours a day, and get practically no sleep. He will be excited when he sees his basket of candy on Easter morning, or his stocking on Christmas. He will never skip a meal. Most importantly, he will always love and support me and my family. I love my father and not just because he can help me with my history homework either.
Works Cited
Maguire, Jason. Personal Interview. 7 Nov. 2009.
Maguire, Tina. Personal Interview. 7 Nov. 2009.