When I was months away from becoming a parent for the first time I decided to learn a few chords on the guitar so that I could play lullabies. With a borrowed guitar and the help of some friends who pushed me to learn some minor chords and to sing from the belly, I was able to fool my kids for several years.

One of the songs they would ask me to sing was called “Daisy a Day”. My eldest daughter especially liked the song and soon knew all the words better than I did. The song is a bit of a sad love story about an elderly couple’s evening walks in a small town and a promise that the old man makes to his wife.

When she was five years old we visited the small town of Chemainus on Vancouver Island. As we strolled down Willow Street past the murals, a candy store, and antique shops we noticed a sculpture of an elderly couple sitting on a bench just steps off of the sidewalk. Her eyes lit up and she asked, “Dad, is that the “Daisy a Day” bench?!”  I don’t know what the artist had in mind but, that bench, with its hand-holding couple, has never been anything else to either of us.

My daughter and her husband were married at an amazing island venue near not too far from the town with the “bench”. The wedding was awesome, the bride was beautiful, and I had tears near the surface most of the day. Wedding protocol called for the bride to dance first with her groom, and then dance to the next song with her dad. I’d been told this was the plan but I wasn’t told what the song would be. I shouldn’t have been surprised when it was “Daisy a Day”.

It had been almost exactly twenty-five years since we had first seen the bench that she is now living so close to.

Since then, my wife has taken a position with a nearby school district and we’ve moved to Vancouver Island. We actually live a short walk away from the “Daisy a Day” bench.

During the past few months I’ve been walking downtown about two or three times each week. I often stop to drink tea and read or write for a while at the Willow Street Café (in fact, that is where I am as I type this). The “Daisy a Day” bench is right across the street.

As far as the song itself goes, I guess I could have just downloaded the original version by Judd Strunk (click here to hear him) and left it at that, but it was my version that prompted Britt to name the bench! Pardon me for the recording quality (I just used Photo Booth) and the nervous (somewhat creepy) looks back at the computer’s camera. I didn’t smile because it’s kind of a sad song.  😦

On a final note… It does get cold on the island now and then. I walked by the bench a few days ago and caught the lovely lady wearing a toque. 🙂