In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Always Something There to Remind Me.”

Jim Croce was played on radios, jukeboxes, and 8 track tapes when I was growing up. My dad loved his music so I heard it over and over again. The song, “I Got a Name” gets stuck in my head at times, but I still cry when I hear it. My dad left us when I was 13 years old. At that age I did not realize how much the song really matched part of the life I shared with my dad.

“I’ve got a name, I’ve got a name
And I carry it with me like my daddy did
But I’m livin’ the dream that he kept hid”

As a child I was not aware that my father had been badly abused. He abused my siblings and myself, but I never knew about his youth until I was almost 30. The first song that came into my mind at that moment was the lyrics above. My years in therapy helped me overcome the emotional impact of being abused. I was able to find freedom in forgiveness. Sadly, my father never did find true peace. So when I hear this song I cry for the little boy inside my father that was broken. It is what he kept hidden for the duration of his life. I will always love my father, but this song will always remind me that he never felt free and at peace. I am living the dream he sadly could not find.