Well, I did speak to my friends. Like my father said..."When I have something to say,
only then shall I speak"...or something like that...
My father had but one friend, no question. He did not hang on the corner or go to the
night club on weekends. It was work, then home, the family...period.
My dad and I are listeners. I think E.F. Hutton's famous slogan from my father's M.O.
For you young people who may be reading this, that famous "70's slogan went
something like this... "When E.F. Hutton speaks, everyone listens..." In the
commercial, the actors would stop and stick their ear out. My father and I perfected
that method of communication to our advantage.
Unlike my father, all of his children laugh loud and often. Everyone knew when one or
more of us were in the vicinity... amazing boisterous, continuous laughter.
It seems all of our friends mirror our laughter. If you can't laugh like that naturally, you
probably were not a real close friend of ours. "Birds of a feather thingy."
Look, don't get me wrong, my daddy laughed loud, I never witnessed him laughing
often. His serious look always prevailed, with intent. I mirror that exact look at times.
Dad loved Guns. Hunting, Fishing, Baseball, Boxing (Not Cassius Clay), Pro Wrestling
(Yea, mom loved pro wrestling also). Neither of them saw me or my younger brother
play organized sports in person. They knew we were pretty good. (Trophies), and the
family ravings. They just never took our sporting activities seriously as my other family
members. Education was number #1. My mom would attend PTA meetings.
The lack of participation by our parents never bothered me or my brother while we
played organized sports. They didn't discourage us, despite our serious injuries.
When my siblings excelled in Academics or sports, (All the time) it was expected, no
celebration needed. Upon my High School Graduation, no one attended my
ceremony. I felt a little empty for a while. Seeing all my friends' proud family there.
I didn't know if my siblings experienced the same as I. I never asked. I really didn't want
to know. God forbid, I would be the only lone no-show-graduate. I would remember
that situation in my college senior year. My remedy, I told no one.