Help! My Dad Discovered a Sweet Hobby in His Retirement. Some People Have Decided to Paint It as Something Sinister.

"We live off a bend in a river where there is a park nearby, so we built up a shaded lookout so my father could continue his bird watching and sketching. He was an avid amateur artist in his youth and has become so good that he was featured at our local cultural council. He was so proud of his work until some nosy woman made it her business to track down some of the families he featured in his pictures."

"These were perfectly innocent and public pieces, like a dad and son fishing or a mom watching her kids on the swings. Several families were flattered and even wanted the pictures, while a few bad apples acted disgusted and dared to suggest my father was a pervert of some kind. We got a lot of community support, but the other negativity has weighed my father and his enthusiasm down. He rarely goes out to look or pick up his art anymore. He just watches TV."

"He was very depressed when he moved in with me after my mom died, and his health got worse. I had the space, time, and funds while my brother and his family were struggling (my brother's stepdaughter got pregnant at 16 and is currently pregnant again and sitting in jail). I don't know what to do here. I feel that if I push or don't, I will just make things worse."

A retired man who once produced well-regarded amateur artwork now lives with his child in a garage apartment near a river park. A shaded lookout was created to support his bird watching and sketching. Several community members enjoyed and sought his public, innocuous scenes, but a few people accused him of impropriety after tracking down families depicted in his pictures. The backlash crushed his pride, exacerbated existing depression, and reduced his activity to watching television. The caregiver considers hosting workshops and gatherings to revive his engagement but worries about making things worse and about family dynamics.

Read at Slate Magazine