Captain J.P Drien: I Wrote You a Letter
Hello, Jake, Paschal Drien, my name is Pascal too (no H), I am your great grandfather the father of your grand-father, my son. What you hold in your hand is what we called a letter, no not the cover piece that’s called an envelope, there were still a few in circulation in my lifetime even though their usage was already in decline. By the time, you read this I would have been long gone so there is no point in asking me how I know your name and how I know where you are stationed.
You see, for some reasons I have always loved the idea of a time capsule, but the thing is that I have two left hands and cannot even dig a hole let alone find a smart location for a rusty souvenir box, so I thought maybe I should write something.
Don’t worry I am not going to lash out or produced one of my elderly rant, no I would not dare lecturing you or give you some you cannot leave a legacy to the world if you let your heritage behind type of arguments, I am not a big fan of those. Well my motto is more something along the line of ‘’it is what it is’’, it’s the way I kind of think about life, so enjoy while you can because when it’s over, it’s over.
Did you know that your grand dad (my son) played Hockey for France at the Olympics and had been on the Hurling Dublin Senior team too, he even played an All-Ireland Final. I see you guys dropped the E and R from our original family name, I don’t blame you, I remember the coaches struggling with the correct pronunciation when I was watching your grandfather from the side lines. We used to slag the coaches in French, so they would not understand us (or so we thought).
Did you know that your grand-dad and great auntie (my daughter) were not the only dual nationals in the family, my own grand-father was Austrian so my mum and your grand dad had one country in common ! At that time, it often took a lot of explanation to people to make sure they did not think we were confused😊. It got worse when your great auntie moved to South America and married an Argentinian business man, it did not go too well with your great grandmother but like any typical Irish mammy she was happy that on the other hand her son bought the house across the street!! 😊
Did you know that I always knew your dad (my son’s son) would be a brilliant scientist, he was only five when I got him one of those scientists set for kids and he managed to blow up the kitchen within a day. Needless to say, your mum was not very happy with me, she was a fierce and tempestuous Spanish woman, wasn’t she? I did not get to see your dad becoming a grown man, but I am sure he became a fine gentleman. I hardly remember your baby sister, but I hope you have taken good care of her.
Don’t ask me how but I am not surprised to know that you volunteered to be part of the first wave of settlers on this remote planet of yours. Now we don’t have a strong army tradition in our genes but roaming runs in the family so that should have been anticipated, by the way did you know that I lived the first three years of my life in a caravan? Yes, hard to imagine probably that people could live in a four-wheeled sardine tin. Times, they were different in those days, but stigma and perception are not time bounded I am told.
Do you still keep speaking in French and Gaelic? Do you think you will ever come back to earth one day? You got to forgive an old man with all those interrogations, my son, it is just that I will probably never have the answers to those questions. It does bug me a little bit I must admit but you know what, It is what it is 😊
One thing I would like you to do for me son, a favour for an old man you never met, no I am not going to ask you to drop the H of our common first name. As you know my ashes were dispatched at the exact point where the Irish sea meet the French territorial waters. So, this is not for me per se, but I would appreciate if you could organize someone to take care of your grand father’s grave in Dublin.
I know that your great auntie’s family in Argentina has been looking after her sepulchre over there and I feel at peace with that. One last thing too from a pushy old man 😊 I was thinking that maybe you could also check if my parents resting house in Le Pere Lachaise in Paris is well kept.
I leave you to it for now, hope you have a great life and if you happen to marry an alien that’s OK by me it runs in the family 😊.
With all my affection and love
Your great grand dad
PS: As you may guess there is no need for a reply 😊 but I was thinking though maybe you could write a letter too to your own great grand son or daughter. We could start a great family tradition you and I
Upwards and onwards 😊
Sources
People & Stuff
Photo Credit
Big stock Sci Fi Desert
Produced for beBee only
Written Copyright 2017 – Pascal Derrien-
"Articles from Pascal Derrien
View blog2003 was a funny year for me. A professional venture I had heavily invested myself in emotionally en ...
I quite like the symbolic of the door. Doorways, openings or gates have always had a great significa ...
For those who know me you know that while I have a very strong incline towards punk I also have very ...
Related professionals
You may be interested in these jobs
-
Procurement Assistant. Job in Dublin Allied-IT Jobs
Found in: beBee S2 IE - 6 days ago
Hartland Tech Search Dublin, Ireland FreelanceMy Client is a multi National Telecoms, Solutions and Services business with major hubs in Dublin including a procurement centre of excellence. · They are looking for a procirement assistant with experience working in an Enterprise IT function processing and managing orders and ...
-
Animatic Editor
Found in: beBee S2 IE - 2 days ago
Yelzkizi Ireland Full timeGiant are seeking Environment Surfacing Artists for an exciting new CG production. We are an Equal Opportunities Employer. · As such, we are committed to Equality of Opportunity for existing and potential employees. All persons regardless of Gender, Civil status, Family status, ...
-
AI Annotators
Found in: beBee S2 IE - 5 days ago
Cpl Dublin, Ireland FreelanceWe are hiring AI Annotators- English speakers for one of the Social Media giants in the following languages: · As an Annotator, you'll possess a strong aptitude for working with data and excellent verbal and written communication skills. You'll be flexible and analytical with the ...
Comments
Lisa Vanderburg
7 years ago #29
I'd so love to see that, Pascal Derrien. The time - era - the 'unsaid'...must be all there.
Cyndi wilkins
7 years ago #28
Pascal Derrien
7 years ago #27
oh thanks Lisa Vanderburg it is funny reading all the comments I only remember now reading my great grand father's last letter to his wife before he got killed in action in 1917, my grand mother showed it to me when I was not even 11 :-)
Pascal Derrien
7 years ago #26
you are very kind Tausif Mundrawala just a few words together not Orwell or Tolkien but glad I can make illusion for 3 mns :-)
Pascal Derrien
7 years ago #25
thats a fasicnating account of the times by the '''Wilkins'' Cyndi wilkins :-) say hi to your great grand father for me :-)
Pascal Derrien
7 years ago #24
Thanks Deb\ud83d\udc1d Lange :-) :-)
Pascal Derrien
7 years ago #23
Many thanks for your comment always appeciated David Navarro L\u00f3pez :-)
Pascal Derrien
7 years ago #22
thanks Lisa \ud83d\udc1d Gallagher glad this brought you a smile :-)
Lisa Gallagher
7 years ago #21
David Navarro López
7 years ago #20
Cyndi wilkins
7 years ago #19
Lisa Vanderburg
7 years ago #18
Pascal Derrien
7 years ago #17
indeed I have a few mad theories about that Dean Owen ☺
Pascal Derrien
7 years ago #16
always a fascinating comment debasish majumder ☺
Dean Owen
7 years ago #15
Pascal Derrien
7 years ago #14
ah thank you Yogesh Sukal a light hearted take on a serious topic glad u liked it ☺
Pascal Derrien
7 years ago #13
thanks appreciate the kind words :-) I dont know the Princess Diaries but I am sure the one I have at home will be interested in finding out :-)
🐝 Fatima G. Williams
7 years ago #12
Pascal Derrien
7 years ago #11
thanks Sara Jacobovici a multi dimensional and kaleidoscopic journey taking place in my little head, Jake says hi to you :-)
Sara Jacobovici
7 years ago #10
Pascal Derrien
7 years ago #9
thanks Aaron Skogen, afew months back I dropped my daughter at ha drama course (not that she needs any lesson) and there was a plaque about a time capsule so I kind of thought about it in my own way I guess :-)
Pascal Derrien
7 years ago #8
Copy that Ken Boddie your message travelled at the speed of light :-)
Ken Boddie
7 years ago #7
Pascal Derrien
7 years ago #6
thats very true Brian, my daughter asked me what was a digital camera the other day :-)
Pascal Derrien
7 years ago #5
thanks Gert \ud83d\udc1d Scholtz my own version of back to the future 🚀
Gert Scholtz
7 years ago #4
Ali Anani
7 years ago #3
:)))
Pascal Derrien
7 years ago #2
Thanks Ali Anani :-) Who knew that one day I would be wise , ti does run in the family that one :-)
Ali Anani
7 years ago #1