Short Fiction · Chapter
My Old Man explained
A boy named Joe recounts his life with his father, a former jockey, as they move from Milan to Paris and settle in Maisons-Lafitte.
What happens
A boy named Joe recounts his life with his father, a former jockey, as they move from Milan to Paris and settle in Maisons-Lafitte. Joe's father struggles with weight and the challenges of returning to racing, eventually buying a horse named Gilford and becoming an owner. The story captures their close bond, the father's hard work, and the boy's pride and excitement in his father's career.
Themes in this chapter
The Search for Authenticity
Joe's father finds genuine fulfillment and excitement in owning and riding his own horse, contrasting with his earlier detached attitude toward racing.
American Identity and Disillusionment
The father's nostalgia for the old days in Kentucky and his view that 'everything went on the bum' in the States reflects a sense of displacement and disillusionment with America.
Characters to notice
- Gilford
The horse bought by Joe's father; an Irish-bred jumper that the father trains and rides.
- Regoli
A young jockey riding for Buzoni at San Siro, contrasted with Joe's father.
- Holbrook
A man who insults Joe's father at a café, leading to their departure from Milan.
- Mrs. Meyers
Runs a boarding house in Maisons-Lafitte where Joe and his father live.
- Charles Drake
Provides stable space for Joe's father's horse Gilford.
Key passages
“Gee, I could listen to my old man talk by the hour, especially when he’d had a couple or so of drinks. He’d tell me about when he was a boy in Kentucky and going coon hunting, and the old days in the States before everything went on the bum there.”
Joe loved hearing his father's stories, especially after a few drinks, about his childhood in Kentucky and the better times in America before things fell apart.
Highlights the father's nostalgia and the theme of American disillusionment.
“Riding for yourself makes an awful difference.”
Being an owner-rider changes everything; it brings a new level of excitement and personal investment.
Captures the father's renewed passion and the search for authenticity.
“You got to take a lot of things in this world, Joe.”
After being insulted, Joe's father tells him that enduring hardships is part of life.
Reflects the father's stoicism and the harsh realities they face.