Not
so much because Tom Petty died (which was sad and unfortunate), but because he
always reminds me of the step-father that left.
This
was step-dad #2 (after my bio-father and step-dad #1). He was my step-dad from when I was about 7
until my late 20s or so. He was the
closest thing I ever had to a “daddy.”
It’s
because of him that I started liking Tom Petty to begin with. My step-dad liked him, partially because my
step-dad’s best friend in high school looked just like Mr. Petty. (And he really did, too. I saw the pictures.)
And
then his best friend was killed in a car accident in high school.
That
made me sad to think about.
In
my late 20s, my mom and step-dad divorced.
And he left and moved to another state.
(I don’t blame him. It was a
terrible, messy divorce.) And I never
heard from him again. (I heard he got
hooked on heroin again, like he was when he and my mom met.)
For
a long time, I thought of him every day.
Every tall, dark-haired person with glasses reminded me of him. Every conversation with my mom made me think
of him. (Probably because she kept
talking about him and all that went wrong.)
Every holiday or family gathering reminded me that he wasn’t there
anymore.
It’s
now been about a dozen years or so since I last talked with him. And I don’t think about him as much. But I do think of him every time I hear Tom
Petty on the radio.
And
it makes me a little sad for all the changes in life that I never wanted.
But
I still like Tom Petty. And I always
will. Because he meant a lot to my
step-dad.
