After having read and reviewed Larry Welch’s The Human Spirit – Stories from the Heart (2009), the author was kind enough to offer for my reading pleasure his two other books: Mary Virginia: A Father’s Story (2002) and Quotations for Positive People, And Those Who Would Like To Be (2007). All three books had been published by Trafford Publishing.
Mary Virginia: A Father’s Story is Larry’s début book. It is about his daughter, Mary Virginia Welch and the happy times they had spend together during Mary’s formative years in the USA. The book was written as a gift for Mary for, in the writer’s own words, “she is making life beautiful for those who have tuned into the quality of her heart.”
Each chapter of the book deals with a certain stage in Mary Virginia’s life or presents memorable events the two had lived together. Larry starts Mary Virginia: A Father’s Story remembering the days when his job as a father was to push her daughter’s jogging cart while running out and about, “travelling through the seasons of change.” He then tells the readers about his daughter’s unsaturated love of stories, a fact that does not surprise anyone as Larry is a storyteller at heart.
In “The Great Escape,” the father writes about Mary’s first day at the neighborhood’s daycare center and of her escape from the playground only to be later found at home. This misadventure is also mentioned in The Human Spirit, albeit in more critical terms. The chapter where the author describes Mary’s life at Hutchinson Elementary School is in fact a eulogy for her teachers’ professionalism and dedication.
Like any other kid of her age, Mary Virginia liked to play games and have fun. Her father had a great role in providing these tools of entertainment and he also took it upon himself to involve the entire neighborhood in these fun activities. Very touching is the account of Mary’s friendship with a Down’s syndrome classmate and the humanitarian missions the daughter and father embarked: feeding the homeless, entertaining children in hospitals, and participating in fund-raising activities for animal shelters. Meeting her older sister for the first time in her ten years also proved to be a decisive moment in Mary’s growing understanding of family relationships.
In “…I can do it!” we find out about Marry’s love of sports, especially swimming, and her unwillingness to run away from challenges: “Basketball, tennis, gymnastics, dance, bicycling, roller blades, ice skating, and swimming were an important part of Mary’s early life. Like many kids, she took an interest in many physical activities giving them all her considerable energies until collapsing into bone weariness.”
Larry Welch in Laos
The chapter describing Mary’s hometown follows next, but I believe it should have been placed at the very beginning, thus giving the entire book a sense of place from the very start.
The description of Mary’s love for animals if followed by a rather surprisingly philosophical chapter in which the writer questions himself about the meaning of life: “For years, I had given considerable thought to what life is about, why we’re here and what we’re supposed to do with it all? … I realized that our mission was simply to nurture the next generation to our best capabilities.” Beautifully said, in extremely simple language!
The reader is further introduced to Mary’s love of arts, which included drawing, painting, music, movies, and, of course, books. Her favorite writer turned out to be no other than Shel Silverstein, an amazing illustrator and author of children’s books (I myself have used his work as inspiration for my own books for children).
The happy times the father and the daughter had travelling together are also memorable, while Mary’s brush with the Toastmaser Club was one of the highlights of her childhood. When Larry took on flight lessons (“for personal growth”) he didn’t forget to take her daughter for a ride up in the sky, “cruising over the countryside at 120 mph with an altitude of 3,500 feet.”
Towards the end of the book, Larry presents his family tree, going back all the way to 1621! The research that must have gone into those few pages must have been tremendous. The last chapter of the book deals with Mary’s love of flying kites and climbing trees, a universal pastime of any child.
Some very inspiring quotes for children and two poems written especially for Mary bring the book to an expected happy conclusion: “Life moves much faster than we think, happy times pass quickly. It’s not a substitute for the passage of life, but satisfying to know that Mary and I enjoyed her early years as the good old days worth remembering in a little book.”
I wholeheartedly recommend Mary Virginia: A Father’s Story by Larry Welch to any father out there or to any little girl (and boy!) who wishes to learn what life for an ordinary kid was like in the 1990s. On top of that, the quotations that precede each chapter make the book the perfect tool for anyone interested in a journey of self-discovery and empowerment.
The book is available here for 16 USD.
daer unkle larry i liked your book its cool i have a author for a unkle im pennys son and marys my cousin
This book is my favorite of those written by Larry. It is a tribute to love of his youngest daughter; and written with interesting, heartwarming and humorous adventures with her.