Opposites Attract
There is the old saying that opposites attract. That was certainly true of my mother and daddy. My Dad was a man of very few words and my Mother was a woman of many words!My Dad talked very little--just enough to say what had to be said. My Mother was sort of a motormouth! In fact she said a lot of things for my Dad.
When my mother was young she didn't talk until she was about three or four. Her tongue was tied and it hindered her being able to speak. A doctor who was checking her out told her mother that he could clip her tongue and it would solve her speech problem So he clipped her tongue and she never stopped talking after that!
She was taking a pan of hot biscuits out of the oven one morning and my Dad was sitting at the table waiting for breakfast. She dropped the pan and it landed on my Dad's foot. My sister was there at the time and she said, "Oh, Daddy, did that hurt?" My Mother quickly spoke up and said. "Nah, that didn't hurt!" My sister then said, " Did it hurt, Daddy?" My Dad said, "Well, I guess it didn't, she said it didn't." Actually, it didn't really hurt him except for a minor feeling of heat at the time.
My Mother often spoke up and answered a question before my Dad could even get his mouth open. My Mother never did it in an overbearing way. She just knew how my Dad was so closed mouthed and she did it to help him out.
My Mother actually got my Dad a job during the depression. She went to a local judge that she knew and asked if he could get a job for my Dad. She cried a little and it worked. The judge got my Dad a job with the Texas State Highway Department and he worked there for many years after that.
My Dad was a great man and he managed very well through life with his minimum talk. The world would be much better off with men like him rather than with men who can never shut up.
posted by kyra lafain @ 5/23/2008 12:30:00 PM
2 Comments:
We often laughed at the dinner table where the conversation would go something like this:
Grandchild: Grandpa, would you like some green beans?
Grandma: No, he doesn't care for green beans.
Grandchild: Grandpa, would you like some ketchup?
Grandma: No, you're Grandpa doesn't like ketchup.
Grandchild: Grandpa, do you want some more tea?
Grandma: No, he doesn't need anymore tea.
Etc., etc.
When I was little, I asked Grandpa one time why he didn't talk much and after a moment of thought, his reply, "Well, I guess the less you say, the less you have to take back!" What a wise man he was. nh
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