Dirty Diapers of Life


On three separate occasions I went to school with a black eye. The last time sticks in my memory most. Dad had tried to help me with my reading words. He got impatient and hit me. Not must once but multiple times. Every time I didn't read the word right or remember right or stammered or hesitated I got whacked upside the head. If I flinched he'd snicker and come at me with his other open hand. The next day as I was leaving for school mom stopped me at the door-her chair was only 6' away so it was easy for her, sitting there, to say just a minute... She asked me to look her in the face. I did. Then she asked me to bend over and act like I was picking something up off the floor. She had to re-explain it a couple of times because I was too close to the door to bend over safely and I had back away (problem one) and I was angled to slip out the door-not open it really wide (second problem). Then she said, yes I guess if they call I can tell them you accidentally hit the door knob when you were trying to pick something up. My, how she'd learned to lie for dad.

In school the teacher tried to get me to give her some explanations about why I had a black eye. I wasn't allowed to lie-but I hadn't looked in the mirror and didn't know what she was talking about.

She sent me to the principal and he tried to get me to tell him what happened. He finally went through a backdoor of the conversation. Mind you he was an agnostic. Yet he said, "Some people believe that it is not okay to tell a lie. They also believe that God would be upset with them if they did. They also believe if they don't tell the absolute truth they will be in trouble with that God." I finally told him the truth.

He excused himself from his office to make a phone call and asked me if I'd just stay right there. He returned and said he had a couple friends coming over and he wanted me to tell them the same things that I had just told him.

I did. I think they were plain clothes police officers-they weren't in uniform.

When I got home my mom was all upset-mad at me. Seems that they went to dad while he was at work (city water department) and warned him not to do it again or they would arrest him. He didn't beat me or my siblings for a very long time.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FAVORITE CHILDHOOD SONGS

My favorite childhood songs were the ones my mama taught me. 1) One day as I was seated on the subway, my high silk hat, my high silk hat; I laid it on the seat beside me, my high silk hat, my high silk hat; A big (sung in deep voice) fat lady came and sat upon it, my high silk hat, my high silk hat (sung in high pitch tiny voice); A big (sung in deep voice) fat lady came and sat upon it, my high silk hat, my high silk hat (sung in high pitch tiny voice); Christopher Columbus now what do you think of that? A big fat lady sat upon my hat! She broke my hat, now what’s the joke? She broke my hat, now what’s the joke? Christopher Columbus now what do you think of that? 2) The golden sun sinks in the west, Great Spirit calls all scouts to rest. We’ve had our work, We’ve had our play And we have lived, The true scout way. Upon my honor, I will try, To do my duty, To God on high, To help all other people out, And live the life of a real Girl Scout. 3) I had a little parasol long, long ago. A
Read more

The Measure of a Man

I loved this song. It was sung by Brett Raymond and it gave me a tremendous sense of where young men need to center themselves. The whole tape (yes, I have a cassette) is great, but this song speaks volumes. I played it often when my boys were teens-as much for me as for them. My youngest son even sang it at a program once-ah heaven-maybe some of it was getting where I really wanted it to go! The Measure of a Man comes from the album of the same name. It is by Clive Romney and friends. I have the hologram sticker that came with it. On the back of the jacket to the cassette case it says: "Though beautiful in any light, this holographic cover is most beautiful when viewed by the light of the sun. Life, likewise, is most beautiful when viewed by the light of the Son. Try it!" Is it the width of your shoulders how tall you stand Or how far you tip the scale The size of your biceps the strength of your hands Your prowess in games of skill Is it the style of your hair, the way that
Read more

A Cerulean Blue Ice Cream

Image
  Being a grandma, I have a tendency to like to ‘kidnap’ one of our grand kids and take them out for an ice cream. Not just because I love my grand kids and want to establish a relationship with them, but also because I like ice cream. You learn a lot of things from your kids if you watch and interact with them. Things like you can’t leave a three-year old unsupervised with scissors for very long. Disaster is definitely going to happen. Or with a permanent marker…around leather furniture. That kind of learning from your kids. Guess what?! The learning goes on with grand kids too! I took a grandson out for an ice cream. Small shop, 31 flavors of ice cream to choose from. With so very many options to choose from, the choice can be overwhelming. He chose his favorite color. He loves cerulean blue, so it stands to reason, in the mind of a young child, that the ice cream flavor had to be as endearing to him as the color was. He ordered it, was handed it and took a lick and before I ev
Read more