My father stayed away from hospitals and funerals

And sick people

And dead people. At 99

He dreamed of eternal youth

Still working, still driving

Still fishing

He had all his own teeth

15 fishing rods and a cart to transport them to the pier

He outlived his clients

As they died one by one

He typed his own letters

When he outlived his secretary

Did his own taxes

Played golf with the boys on weekends

When my mother got sick

He sent her to me on an airplane

Accompanied by a nurse.

He went to Macy’s for a new pillow

To celebrate his freedom and

Ate egg salad sandwiches for lunch

Which he cut on the diagonal

With studied precision.