My Dad, the softie

I know that Valentines Day is over for this year but every time I think about that special day it brings back wonderful memories of my Dad. You see him here at his favorite Sunday task … completing the New York Times Crossword Puzzle … and the accompanying picture? Just one of the Valentine’s cards that my mother saved year after year. I don’t know the exact year of this one but it is obviously from the 1920’s and says “Valentine Greetings Sweetheart”.

It was obvious that my father was a big softy. He tried so hard to be the “boss” of the family, but with 5 girls and my mother he, (to quote him), “didn’t stand a chance”. He absolutely adored my mother and she was the disciplinarian of the family.

I do, however, remember one time that he tried his best. I’m not sure what the 5 of us had done that made him so angry but it was bad enough that he’d called us to “come hear me out and do it NOW !” We 5 gathered in front of him and solemnly listened as he berated us and when he unbuckled his belt and warned us that a thorough belt thrashing was the only way he could think to punish us it actually had me scared. This wasn’t the dad that I was used to.

The 5 of us were holding on to each other and trembling as dad dramatically whipped off his belt and …WATCHED AS HIS PANTS FELL DOWN !!

How awful, how embarrassing, how DELIGHTFUL !   All 5 of us broke into hysterical laughter as we watched our beloved dad pulling his pants back on ! We could hear him mumbling something about “never having had a chance anyway” as he hastily left the room !

(I was about 5 when this happened and my sister Peg barely one year older ... so there's a real possibility this was all a prank thought up by our 3 older sisters and Dad, but you could have fooled me (and probably did !)