After grass cutting, I was sitting on the backyard swing and I thought of my Dad. Before lawnmower grass catchers my dad insisted that we double-cut the grass. You made a forward swath-cut and then drug the mower back through the same swath. This way you continued to displace grass clippings, sending them to one end of the yard where they could be picked up. I never asked 'why?' Dad would have simply said, "Because I said so!"
I recall the first goofy thing he insisted on: "We are having guests tonight...remember you are to be seen and not heard." Of course, at the start of each school year, dad would say, "Don't make me have to come to the school house and remember if you get a spanking at school you'll get one when you come home." Imagine a parent who NOT only stifled his child's charm with house guests but would take the teacher's side against his own blood?
"Any job worth doing is worth doing right." That statement had to be some crap he brought home from World War II. Another dumb comment he often made was..."Hey boy, straighten up a fly right."
And how about this, my Dad would NOT give me an allowance. He said, "If you need money ask for a job to do." My mother had the shiniest hardwood floors in East St. Louis.
During my teen years, my Dad would always insist that I be home 'before shallow hours' began (midnight) and "Don't let your mouth overload your ass out on the streets."
I thank God (everyday) that I had the Dad I had. I miss him and wish that I could share this Father's Day.
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