Meticulous - Poem by Raymond A. Foss

Meticulous was the word
That came to mom and me
Simultaneously to describe
Dad and how he approached almost
Everything he did in life.

A list of everything to take for a ski trip
Researching skis or tennis rackets
Or wine before buying the best.
Packing the car so well that
We sometimes took pictures of the
Full trunk, then the pile of stuff
It had held.

Wanting to be at the base of the lift
Before it started for the day.
Telling us to be sure we had everything we wanted
But bringing all of what we needed
Because he was the dad.
Skiing behind the rest of the family
To be sure we were all safe
As we went down the slopes.

Blocks of wood to hold skis at the right height
For waxing, kept in the same black tool box
With the iron, files, waxes, and straps.
Knots on a string to strength his eyes.
The logic of the Atkins diet
Or Nutri-system’s strict rules.

A pad of narrow white lined paper
With columns for the date of an invoice,
The name of the provider, the amount of the bill,
The amount paid, and the amount remaining due,
All written with a freshly sharpened Ticonderoga #3 pencil.
Juggling bills.

The precision of the cabinets
In our kitchen,
Made by his hands
Or of the boards to traverse the slope
In the few inches between
The porch and the kitchen
Cut just right in his shop.

Masonry drill bits, nail guns, studs
To hold pegboard to the cement walls
For his organized tools.

Making a backyard ice rink
Just so, in spite of the dip in the back left corner,
With patient, thin layers of water
To keep the ice where we wanted it.

Explaining to a Friendly’s waiter or waitress
How to make a vanilla milkshake
With lime sherbet ice cream
(You have to blend it extra to get it smooth).
How to make a Big Beef with the setup,
Or a salad plate without the extra lettuce
For presentation.

He knew what he wanted and
How to do it.
Just so.