Bee Mine . . . A Clyde Ferkel Story

by Hilary Farquhar ~ I don't remember how or when Clyde Ferkel came about, just that my dad made him up to entertain us kids, and he became part of our family lore. When I went to college, I got my first Valentine from Clyde — hand-drawn on folded paper, with a check for a few dollars inside to buy myself a treat. As a broke college student on work-study, any gift was appreciated. As a homesick girl away from her family for the first time, that gift was perfect.

The valentines from Clyde continued for years. I don't remember when he sent his last card, but I miss them. The best valentines are true to the person sending them, and most of us aren't frilly lace and pink ribbons. My dad was silly, imaginative, mischievous, thoughtful . . . I love that those parts of him were so perfectly captured in Clyde's notes.

Another thing lives on from Dad's sweet tradition – the treat. I always buy flowers around Valentine's Day, just to have some color and the promise of Spring flowers in the house, when the view is snow and more snow. The light is noticeably longer in the afternoons, the birds are all a-twitter, and I can imagine my yard in bloom again. I trust my gardens are resting safely under the snow, maybe dreaming of flowers, too, or maybe waiting for their own secret admirer . . .