Roll Top desk surprise
August 20, 2020
By: Russ Ray Rollins
When I was a little boy I would go to work with my Dad. I used to love to go to work with him. He would always give me some busy work. If I was lucky, I got to sit at his desk and draw. I loved art even when I was a kid. My Dad would always say "that will be your desk one day Russ." At that point, I always just thought it was my desk.
As the years went by, as I got older, Dad would still remind me that "when I croak and choke, that will be your desk, don't forget it." Even when I became a grown man, he would still let me know about the desk, like I was going to forget or something.
It's been over a year now that my father, Raymond C. Rollins, has passed away. The desk has been sitting in my old bedroom at my parents home. I never really made an effort to go get it. I even thought, "I don't really have room for that desk, maybe I should let Mom sell it." After talking to my wife, Maryellen, we came up with a place to put it in our house.
I hired Cento's moving to pick up my fathers antique Roll Top Desk. I was in fear I would break something if I tried to move it. I called my Mom and told her the time the movers would be over to pick up this treasure my father always wanted me to have. She said, she would get it ready and clean out any drawers that need to be emptied.
Mom called me later that night, after she spent time cleaning out the beautiful Roll Top Desk my father wanted me to keep. My Mom said, "Russ, you won't believe what I found when I was cleaning our your Daddy's Roll Top Desk. These old desks from the 1800's have hidden faux drawers behind some of the main drawers. When I was cleaning it out, I found one of those drawers. When I opened it up, I found every single love letter I sent your Daddy when he was in the Marine Corp. He had them tied up with a ribbon and hidden in the Roll Top Desk."
If you knew my Dad, you would know this is something he would have done on purpose. As a surprise, a way to still be "here" with us. Dad left those letters in the Roll Top Desk for years and he wanted me to find them. What a great surprise.
Thanks Dad. I love you.
RRR