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.

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