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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The way you know it's Friday is that it's time for StoryCorps. Jim Miles sat down to talk with his daughter about his dad, Rayford Junior Miles, a World War II veteran who could come off as a tough guy. To his granddaughter Melanie Harrison, he was just Papa.
MELANIE HARRISON: I remember I was young enough to be in a high chair. Papa got me out and gave me his chewing tobacco kiss. There were a lot of them, but they were appreciated.
JIM MILES: His grandmother just taught him to chew when he was, like, 8 years old or something.
HARRISON: (Laughter).
MILES: And my father was an expert at flipping you off. Now, he didn't do it out of meanness. Just kidding around, he'd shoot you a bird, and if he was really, really on a thing there, he'd shoot two at the same time - bang, bang.
HARRISON: (Laughter).
MILES: And they were crisp. They snapped. It was a work of art.
So a couple days before he died, when I was up visiting the hospital, we talked 15 minutes. And I said, well, we got to go now. And he just didn't nod or anything. He just - bang, bang - just flipped those birds out. And as we were coming home, I looked into the sky and I saw a cosmic finger. It was a gigantic dark cloud formation. It was a perfect bird. And I said, Mel, look at this. And then you looked at it and said, oh, my God.
HARRISON: (Laughter).
MILES: And you told me today that you think that was just my father's last bird - I'm out of here.
HARRISON: I'm dead. That was fun.
MILES: Honest, it was there. It was the clearest cloud formation I've ever seen.
HARRISON: Whenever I see a big cloudy day and big storm clouds roll past, I look for him. You know, right after he died, I had a dream that I was in the house. And he was just sitting there with his hands across his belly, like he usually did, just looking at me. Like, you know, it's cool.
MILES: You'll be OK.
HARRISON: Yeah.
MILES: That's something to think about.
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HARRISON: My name is Melanie Harrison. It's been 14 years since I had that conversation with my dad. He passed away in 2019. My dad looked like Santa Claus, and at 6 foot 6, he was a gentle giant. I loved going places with him and letting everybody see, like, oh, that's why she's so tall (laughter). I think when my dad saw the finger in the sky, it helped him process what was upcoming. He may not have shared it was something he was struggling with, but we knew. He knew he would have to step up and help take care of his mom and all of the changes that come along when a parent dies. And the cloud was like my papa saying, You're going to be all right.
When my dad passed, I had dreams very similar to the dream that I had of his father after he passed. He just kind of smiled and let me know that it was OK. As the years go by, I don't have as many dreams, but both of them pop up in there every now and then. They're little things that help you remember that you're going to be able to move forward. And it's always good to see them again.
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INSKEEP: Darn it. Got me again. Melanie Harrison and Jim Miles for StoryCorps in Georgia. Their interview is archived at the Library of Congress. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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