By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
Paul Parrott passed away a couple of weeks ago. He was 90. We became fast friends about 10 years ago as neighbors in a modest apartment complex in southwestern Lexington. At the time we met, I was experiencing a difficult divorce and living in cramped quarters a short walk across the parking lot from Paul and his wife, Dee.
Besides the divorce, I faced the challenges of finishing my first book—made more difficult because of a fast-approaching deadline for submission to the publisher. I was struggling emotionally, and a friendly face with and little uplifting conversation were items on my wish list.
I found both with Paul.
Paul, like me, was a regular exercise walker. In fact, though nearly 30 years my senior, his weekly mileage likely dwarfed mine. Almost daily, I saw slightly pudgy Paul briskly ambulate the sidewalks along Ft. Harrods Drive, and often along the heavily trafficked Man o’ War Boulevard.
He traveled miles, often more than an hour doing so. He wore running shoes, a cap and he showed a determined look on his face. And though I can’t remember us ever walking together, we exchanged information about our routes in frequent conversation.
But besides the walking, another subject got us communicating even more. We talked about being authors. Soft-spoken Paul’s first and only tome, called Chasing Covered Bridges and How to Find Them, had recently been released. His project provided him a wealth of stories to tell about chasing covered bridges (often hard to find) and capturing those remnants of history with photographs worthy for publication.
The adventures that he and his wife, Dee, experienced as they drove thousands of miles around the United States were interesting to hear, and now Paul had his own hardware, his book, to verify his words. It was an obvious labor of love for Paul, as it surely couldn’t have been a profitable venture with all the unreimbursed travel expenses.
Paul’s work helped him appreciate my efforts in writing and publishing a biography about the television host of Kentucky Afield, Tim Farmer, which also required a lot of travel and research. We rooted for each other. It was not uncommon for Paul to knock on my door and hand a freshly baked pastry or other sweet as a gift from his wife’s kitchen. I might ask him to come in, but he didn’t tarry… didn’t want to be a bother, and he wasn’t.
Besides the things we discovered in common, I learned about my friend’s career in the U.S. Navy and how he was known as the respected Chief Petty Officer Paul Parrott. He also worked another 20 years with the U.S. Postal Service. He had a good retirement income, but the Parrotts lived modestly and continued to drive the van they navigated across the country while writing the book. After I moved away in 2008, I made a point to visit the two regularly after they entered an assisted-living home on the other side of town.
A few years ago, Paul’s health began to diminish–and rather quickly. He became a resident at Wilmore’s Thomson-Hood Veterans Center while Dee continued to live at the assisted-living home. I visited them both, but on the times I met with Paul at the veterans’ center, he was slow to remember me until after we talked several minutes. He always asked to close our time, though, with prayer, and he did the praying. I always walked away with a sense of joy, and I think he felt that way, too.
At the funeral, the minister talked about Paul’s military and postal employee service, along with his dedication to his wife and church life. That’s something that most in the gathering already knew. What they didn’t know was that a certain person hearing the eulogy had been blessed beyond measure by Paul’s friendship during a very trying time in his life.
And so, I will miss you, Paul. I’ll never take another walk or see another covered bridge without thinking of you.
Speaking of service in America’s military, Gayron Ferguson has such a passion for America’s military personnel that he retired early from his career in finance to start an organization called The Hugs Project of Western Kentucky, in Paducah. The mission of the all-volunteer membership is to send thousands of care packages to personnel in war zones. Find out more about the organization by checking out his Facebook page, The Hugs Project of Western Kentucky, or visit the web site at www.thehugsprojectofwky.com.
Charles Worth “Brewster” McLeod has a deep desire for including all under the umbrella of Christian love…so much that through “The Jesus Prom,” thousands of individuals with special needs have been served in a supersized way throughout Kentucky. Find out how to be involved in this Nov. 6 event at the Southland Christian Church on Harrodsburg Road in Lexington, by clicking here.
Steve Flairty is a teacher, public speaker and an author of six books: a biography of Kentucky Afield host Tim Farmer and five in the Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes series, including a kids’ version. His new book, “Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes #4,” has recently been released and is available for purchase here. Flairty is a senior correspondent for Kentucky Monthly, as well as a weekly KyForward and NKyTribune columnist and a member of the Kentucky Humanities Council Speakers Bureau. Read his past columns for excerpts from all his books. him at sflairty2001@yahoo.com or friend him on Facebook. (Steve’s photo by Connie McDonald)
To read more of Flairty’s Kentucky by Heart series on KyForward, click here.
To read columns from Flairty’s Everyday Heroes series on KyForward, click here.