My Father's Daughter

the true story of my father, drugs, and me...

My Father’s Daughter

            The year was 1996 and the night was cold and rainy. A man I knew well Charles Chandler lay on a beat up sofa in his dirty cramped hotel room. He had nothing to comfort him but an old TV and his stash of drugs. It was a normal thing for Charles to get high, but this night was different. And with the drugs coursing through his veins it was already too late to figure out why.

            His mother and three sisters wanted nothing to do with him and his two sons Tommy and Charlie hated him for leaving them and their mother. Charles did not know though that his girlfriend Robin Heard and his two-year-old daughter Carol Chandler loved him and wanted him to come home. Yes that is right Charles was my father and he was a drug addict. My father died that night never knowing the family he was leaving behind.

            My mom used to talk about him when I was younger. He had short black curly hair, blue eyes, and he was in the five foot range. My mother and he planed on getting married after he got clean, but he never could. I was told that he tried but once he was hooked there was no way out.

            My mother grew up with him, his brother, and three sisters. She used to talk about the good times they had playing Sewer Tag and One Catch All. She also told me about the time my dad jumped over a white picket fence and his jeans got stuck on one of the points. It must have been so funny to watch him dangle upside-down. Or the time he jumped off a porch and had a nail go through his foot…yah he did a lot of stupid things.

            As I grew up it was obvious that my family was different than most of my friends. I never went to daddy daughter dances, went fishing, or built tree houses like a lot of the kids around me were taking for granted. I never once felt sorry for myself though. Other kids used to ask me what it was like to lose my dad and I would always say the same thing. “I don’t know, because he is still with me.” He left things with me that make up a big part of who I am today. He left me with the knowledge to never do drugs, to treat all people no matter how different than you kindly, and of course my blue eyes.

            I don’t have many physical possessions left behind by my father. I have only two or three photos of us together, the promise ring he gave to my mother, and my prized possession the one and only letter written by my father. The only legal proof that he was my father and the only thing that holds the words “I love you.”

            I often wonder what my life would be like if he had not died; I know it would be very different. If he had not passed my mother would have never put me in day care which though led to some abuse it also brought me together with friends I followed to Washington Elementary. There I honed my skills for writing poetry which followed me to middle school. I met many people that have left impressions in my life and I have met a few where I have done the same.

            Because of my father my mother’s life and my own has been hard but meaningful. Because of him I am understanding, giving, hard headed, stubborn, argumentative, I always stand up for what I believe in, and I am strong. These are all characteristics that my father left me and they all make up who I am. So who am I? I am Carol Chandler…and I am my father’s daughter.

 

 

This was a paper I was assigned to write last year in 8^th grade. The assignment was to pick something or someone that made you who you were and I picked my father. I hope that after reading this you go and tell someone that you love them, because tomorrow is never a guarantee. Spend the time that you have wisely and never take one moment for granted. We only get one chance at this; don’t live your life with regrets…Voice

 

Author's Note

The hotel in the picture is the actual hotel that my father died in it took a while but I found it...

Reviews

[closed account]

I loved your honesty and strength in this write, you
wrote with such passion and directness! There
really isn't another way to write it, you executed
and right on demand. I am sure that your daddy
is very proud of his young lady daughter!!
thank you for sharing this! thank you for sharing
your fathers story!!

[Deborah Leah Krempa]

My heart goes out to you hon, my husband also died from drugs and he left behind our children and a family that loved him. It's such a sad thing to go through and it's so hard for the addicted person to stop. It's heartbreaking all around no matter how you look at it. But you have a beautiful gift the way you write. Thank you for sharing. Stay Strong. Debileah

[Emmie]

You have such a beautiful soul! I am so proud that I know you. I know it is hard and there aren't enough apologies in the world to make up for what you have been put through but you are strong, you are beautiful, and extremely gifted. No one can take that away! XOXO ~Em

[Ralphy]

Awe, you're just an angel

[Crazy Cat Man]

Wow this is pretty amazing because most people would talk bad about their fathers if they been through the same thing. Yet you show no hatred or resentment towards him. You wont let the 'drug addict' affect your judgement on your father. I can understand how easy it is for anyone to fall prey to drugs and alcohol. it becomes routine as brushing your teeth. excess is never enough. It's amazing that you have no bitterness. We have to deal with the cards we are dealt in life. We just have to learn to flip it :) great piece