reading Barack Obama

i'm enjoying Obama's book.

his father had left by the time he was two years old and he only saw him once more in his life, when he was 10. i thought this description of that last time together was poignant:

"The day of his departure, as my mother and I helped him pack his bags, he unearthed two records, forty-fives, in dull brown dust jackets.
"Barry! Look here - I forgot that I had brought these for you. The sounds of your continent."
... A tiny guitar lick opened, then the sharp horns, the thump of drums, then the guitar again, and then the voices, clean and joyful as they rode up the back beat, urging us on.
"Come Barry," my father said. "You will learn from the master."
And suddenly his slender body was swaying back and forth, the lush sound was rising, his arms were swinging as they cast an invisible net, his feet wove over the floor in off-beats, his bad leg stiff but his rump high, his head back, his hips moving in a tight circle. The rhythm quickened, the horns sounded, and his eyes closed to follow his pleasure, and then one eye opened to peek down at me and his solemn face spread into a silly grin, and my mother smiled, and my grandparents walked in to see what all the commotion was about. I took my first tentative steps with my eyes closed, down, up, my arms swinging, the voices lifting. And I hear him still: As I follow my father into the sound, he lets out a quick shout, bright and high, a shout that leaves much behind and reaches out for more, a shout that cries for laughter."

a nice memory to have if you only had brief moments with your father - dancing together.

there are other passages i really like, but i won't re-write them all here! things like the first time Obama went to church, with the road of his searching leading him there. his surprise at finding himself weeping through the sermon.

his first trip to Kenya, and the family he got to know for the first time. the way so many things fell into place for him there.

later in the book he refers to questions of his father leaving him. that reinforces my believe that your actions do leave an indelible mark on your children.