Papa and the Magic Suitcase

Papa was my Grandfather and he always had a special way to make me smile. He always told me many stories about when he was a little boy. He was not a very big man but his big white moustache always made him stand out in a crowd and everyone knew him by name and would wave and say “Hi” to Papa as he passed by. It was almost like magic when he would come over to our house. My little brother and myself would wait patiently staring out our big picture window for any signs of his truck coming down the road. Just when we were about to give up and go to our rooms ,there came Papa chugging down the street with a cloud of dust following his truck.

We would watch as Papa would slowly get out of his truck and open the back door and take out his old, beat up suitcase. It was probably older than Papa and all wrapped up with tape and string to hold it all together. Papa took that suitcase everywhere he went. Whenever someone would ask Papa why he didn’t buy a new suitcase, he always had the same answer. “This was a magic suitcase”. Everyone thought he was a little bit crazy and would just laugh at him. He didn’t care. He would laugh with them, give them a big wink and a smile and go about his business.

This day was no different than any other. Papa would throw open the back door and in a loud voice yell “ Where are my boys? I need a big hug.” My brother and I would always race to see who could give Papa a hug first. Since I was two years older than my little brother I would beat him every time and he would start to cry. Papa would always gently put me down and pick up my little brother and whisper in his ear and wipe his tears. Then Papa would put his old suitcase on the table and slowly begin to open it. Before he opened it he would always say the same thing. He would look around to make sure no one else could hear and say these magic words, “Diddledy Dee and Diddledy Doo, I’ve got just the thing for you”. After saying his magic words he would open his suitcase just a crack and stick his hand into the suitcase and pull out something special. This time it was two toy dinky cars. One for me and one for my brother. Papa said he had these cars since he was little and they always made him happy whenever he played with them. We both squealed with glee as we rolled them across the floor in the kitchen. Papa gave us both a big wink and a smile and we all started laughing.

It seemed like whenever I had a problem ,Papa would come to our house in his old truck, pull out his “magic suitcase”, throw open the door and yell “Where are my boys, I need a hug”. We would always go running to greet him because we knew he always had something that seemed to magically appear from his old case. This one day papa could see that I was a little sad and he asked me what was wrong. I told him that I was trying to make the track team at school but I was the shortest in my class and wasn’t sure if I could run as fast as the other boys. Papa placed his old suitcase on the table and said the magic words “Diddledy Dee and Diddledy Doo, I’ve got just the thing for you.” He opened the suitcase just a crack and pulled out an old pair of shoelaces. He said that he wore these in his shoes when he was young and was the fastest kid in school. “Go get your shoes and put these laces in them. You’ll see.” Well, of course I changed my laces and tried out for the team the next day. Wouldn’t you know it , I came in second place and if I hadn’t tripped at the start of the race, I probably would have won.

I remember another time when I had a big spelling test at school and was afraid that I may not pass it. Papa came over in his truck as if he knew I needed help before I asked him. He threw open the door and yelled “Where are my boys , I need a hug.” He walked straight to the table and plopped his suitcase down. “Now, what is the problem” he said to me. I told him about the spelling test and he gave me that famous wink and a big smile and said those magic words I had heard so many time before. “ Diddledy Dee and Diddledy Doo, I’ve got just the thing for you.” He opened his suitcase just a crack and pulled out an old pencil that had teeth marks with an eraser that was worn very thin. He said when he was in school, he used this pencil for all his tests and was at the top of his class every year. “You use that pencil for your test and you will do just fine.” Well, I used that very same pencil that Papa gave me to write the spelling test and what do you know, I got one of the highest marks in the class.

Every summer I would try out for our local baseball team at the park down the street from our house. I was a very good fielder but not a very good batter. I probably struck out more than I ever hit the ball. Unless I could improve my hitting I was never going to make the team. Papa showed up at the park in his old truck and sat himself down behind our dugout during our last practice before all the cuts were made for the team. Of course Papa was holding his old suitcase on his lap. It was my turn to bat next so I grabbed my favourite bat and was walking to the on deck batting circle when I heard my name. It was Papa and he called me over to the fence. He quietly whispered those magic words to me, “Diddledy dee and Diddledy Doo, I’ve got just the thing for you”. He opened his case and pulled out an old pair of batting gloves. He said that he wore these very same gloves when he was my age and was the best hitter on his team. “Put them on and you’ll do fine.”

Someone yelled that I was up and to get to the batter’s box. I hurriedly slipped on the gloves and walked quickly to home plate. I could almost feel the magic in those gloves and a confidence that I had never felt before seemed to rush into my whole body. The first pitch was out of the strike zone and called for a ball. I set my feet solidly into the ground and readied myself for the next pitch. It was almost like I could read the letters on the ball as it flew towards the center of the plate. I stretched back and swung my bat towards the ball. I remember hearing a loud thud and was almost frozen as the ball sailed into left field. I could hear Papa’s voice telling me to run and awoke from my trance and headed for first base. The coach was telling me to keep running towards second and that’s when I looked up out towards left field and saw the ball clear the fence. I had hit a home run. It was the first time I ever accomplished such a remarkable hit. As I crossed home plate ,all the other kids were cheering and yet I could still hear my Papa’s voice loud and clear over the crowd yelling “That’s my Grandson”. As I looked over to see him he gave me that famous wink and a big smile. I don’t know who was prouder of that home run, him or me. Of course I made the team and Papa was always at every one of my games cheering the loudest every time I came to bat. He was my biggest fan.

All during the early and teen years of my life Papa was the one constant that got me through all the trials and troubles of maturing from a child to a man. He kept me out of trouble and saved me from the many embarrassing situations of growing into manhood. There was my first crush on a girl and Papa gave me a note from his suitcase that he had written when he was young to his first girlfriend. I copied it word for word and it got me my first date. I still remember the day I got my first pimple. It was right in the middle of my forehead shining like a neon sign for everyone to see. I was mortified and didn’t want to go to school. Papa showed up with his magic suitcase and pulled out a tube of something. He said he knew that this may look like girl’s makeup but he used it when he was my age and it covered a multitude of zits through his teenage years. I gave it a try and sure enough nobody stared or pointed at me that day at school. Papa really knew what he was talking about.

The years of my childhood and teenage years seem to fly by so quickly and I had become a young man starting out to create my own destiny and mark in this world. Unfortunately as I aged so did Papa. His white moustache seemed whiter and droopier than ever and almost made him look sad . But his wink and big smile were unforgettable and still made everyone smile and laugh whenever they would see him. He didn’t seem as tall as he once was and his walk had slowed down to that of a turtle, but somehow he was still always there whenever I needed him. Papa always seemed to know if something was going wrong for me. He would just appear out of nowhere with his magic suitcase. He would ask for his hug , say those magic words, open his suitcase and pull out something that always made me feel better or help me through a hard time. Whenever I had a problem I knew the answer was just a big wink and a smile away.

The day the phone rang with the news that Papa was sick and lying in a hospital bed close to death came as a total shock to me. Papa couldn’t be dying. I still needed him and his magic suitcase. Who was going to get me through the hard times and give me a wink and a big smile and make me laugh?

I hurried to the hospital to be at Papa’s side. It was if he knew I was coming when I entered his room. He looked up from his pillow, gave me a wink and a smile and pointed for me to bring him his magic suitcase that was sitting on the table in the corner of his room. He took a deep breath and asked me in a voice so weak that I barely recognised it, why I looked so sad and reached out and put his hand in mine. I couldn’t hold back the floodgates and began to cry uncontrollably. Papa looked at me as if staring right into my soul and whispered those words I had heard so often before for his very last time. “Diddledy Dee and Diddledy Doo, I’ve got just the thing for you.” He struggled as he slowly and methodically opened his suitcase a crack and slid his hand into the magic case . He pulled out a picture of himself and me when I was just young. In the picture Papa was throwing me up in the air and our eyes were locked on one another and I had the biggest grin with my mouth wide open. It was as if you could almost hear me squealing with laughter . Papa had that big smile that just about made his moustache disappear and a twinkle in one eye and a wink in the other that made me smile and almost laugh as I looked at the joy you could see on his face.

Papa then said his last words to me. “All through the years whenever I was feeling sad, I would open up my case and pull out this picture of you and I laughing together. No matter how bad or sad I was feeling , this picture always made me smile and put a joy and a peace back into my heart. Now this picture is yours. Whenever you are sad ,just look at this picture and remember the joy of that moment and you will be alright.” Then Papa looked at me one last time , gave me a wink and a big smile, took his lat breath and slowly closed his eyes.

I gently removed the magic suitcase from his hands. I couldn’t resist, I had to open the suitcase. Was it really magic or just a bunch of old mementoes from his past. I had to know so I gently opened the case not sure if something would jump out at me. To my surprise it was now finally empty. The magic of his suitcase had gone with Papa. All of Papa’s treasures had now been used. His mission was complete.

An overwhelming feeling of sadness and grief overtook my soul and the tears flowed down my cheeks. I picked up the picture from his bed and looked at it one more time and unexpectedly a joy and a peace that I cannot explain gently took root in my heart.