Twice Blessed And Grateful

My father, Jewell Gene Seufer, was born on July 8, 1922. A few minutes later, so was my father’s identical twin brother, Darrell Dean.

When I was young, I found the whole idea of my father being a twin so fascinating! I remember asking my father, “Don’t you think you are looking in a mirror when you see Uncle Darrell?!” He’d laugh and say, “No, but Mother did.” She really couldn’t tell them apart sometimes.

My uncle held public office for many years as a county commissioner in Colorado and there were times when local citizens would approach my father thinking he was my uncle. They would tell him their complaints. Instead of correcting these individuals, my father would politely listen and later relay the information to my uncle.

Some say twins feel premonitions when something bad is about to happen to the other. I am not sure if this was true for my father and uncle. However, there were rare occurrences when similar things would happen to them both. My father and uncle shared the love of horses and strangely enough, they seemed to always lose a horse at the same time. They were both ranchers and farmers, and hail would always strike their wheat crops at the same time, even though their farms were separate.

No one had a premonition that my father would lose his fight with cancer in 1990. But I believe Uncle Darrell was as devastated as if it had happened to him.

Today, all because my father was a twin, I am reaping the benefits of this extraordinary birth. When I see my Uncle Darrell, I can see my father so clearly. And when I look at my uncle’s hands, there - as plain as a blue sky without clouds - are my father’s hands!

I honor my uncle on Father’s Day. I give him gift certificates to his favorite breakfast place and I always call him and wish him a Happy Father’s Day.

I know there are many others like me in our community who have found surrogate fathers after their own fathers have died. Maybe this person is an older brother, a mentor, a neighbor, a friend. Take the time to appreciate them and recognize their value to you each day. Wish them a Happy Father’s Day tomorrow and you’ll know your real father is smiling down from heaven.

MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.