Temper, Temper

As long as I remember my mother taught us not to fight. She was like all mothers... no fighting means less chance of an injured child.

Of course there were still fights. Brothers against brothers, sisters against sisters, and brothers against sisters. We were normal children after all. 

At times there were confrontations with other children. Someone would say or do something that would tick off the other. It happens.

Mom used those times to teach us. Instead of saying, "Use your words," she would tell us that "When you lose your temper you have lost control of the situation." Think about it. Even in a fist fight the person who is wildly swinging out of anger will probably get a black eye from a single punch from a person in control.

Even in a debate it will be the person who keeps a cool head who will win. They are in control.

The older I get the more wisdom I see in my mother's teachings. I tried to teach my children the same lesson. Their grandmother also told them the same.

The idea does necessarily work at first. My children also had a hot-headed father. However they now try to teach their children and grandchildren to not lose their tempers. The lesson took.

Now this does not mean you must abandon your feelings. You can still defend yourself if need be. It simply means you can be in control of the situation. 

Remember if you lose your temper you lose control.

Switch

My 10-year-old niece was diagnosed with a thyroid problem. She was growing too quickly. There were other problems also. Her mother took her to the doctor and after testing her thyroid was the culprit.

As doctors always do they tried a variety of treatments. None were working.

Finally they decided to try radiation. She did not have check into the hospital. I believe she took pills.

They were told that she should not be around any babies or to sit close to anyone for more than a minute or so. Of course everyone had a good time teasing her about having "cooties".

The really funny part is that every time she would walk past the television the channels would change. They had a lot of fun having her walk back and forth to see what shows would come on.

There is a happy ending. Her medical condition is fine. She stopped growing. She is a bit taller than her sisters but her father is quite tall.

Lights On

My daughter-in-law and I were sitting on her front steps. It was a pleasant summer evening.

We were just talking about day-to-day nothings as we watched the kids playing.  My sons were all working on a car belonging to one of them.

Suddenly all three of my boys stopped what they were doing. They closed the hood of the car and put all their tools away. They looked almost like zombies as they made their way up the steps and into the house.

My daughter-in-law and I watched as they silently walked past us and into the house. We knew the car was not yet fixed. What on earth?

Then I began to laugh. The streetlights had just turned on. I taught my children when they were small that they were to come inside when the streetlights came on. It was a habit that stayed with them.

A Little Off The Side

I used to take my boys to the barber college to get their hair cut. The students who cut the hair were similar to a resident in the hospital. They had completed their studies and needed experience. There were experienced barbers on the floor with them in case of problems.

One time my youngest son was sitting politely in his chair. Suddenly he yelled. His barber clipped a little chunk out of his ear! 

His haircut was free that day.

By the time he was due for another cut he was willing to try again. He sat quietly in his chair again. And once more he was injured. 

This time there were no pieces of his ear missing. He did have a small scraping type of cut. Another free haircut.

My son was really angry at the two men who had cut him. He said he would never go back.

The fact was that another haircut day came.

As we walked into the barber college my son declared that he wanted a woman barber. Since the injuries came from men barbers he thought a woman might be more careful.

He was right. No injuries that day. He insisted on a woman every time after that.

Memorize

My second-grade teacher recognized that I had a good memory. She encouraged me to develop my memory by giving me things to memorize.

Several times during the school year there was a program presented to the parents and anyone else who wished to attend. It was not a large school and every class was expected to have an offering. It might be a song, or dance, or short play,

As I said it was a small town. For some reason there were more boys than girls attending classes. If one classroom needed girls to fill in for their portion of the program girls were recruited from another room. We had so much fun.

Another fun thing was that I was always given poems to recite. I memorized poems like The Song of Hiawatha, Paul Revere's Ride, The Owl and the Pussycat, The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat, and Little Orphant Annie. Mom also had me memorize The Raven. She was a big fan of alliteration. All of these are fun poems for many reasons. 

Imagine my delight when I learned that my oldest niece was learning Little Ophant Annie in school. 

These are all great poems to read to children. Although you may want to consider the age of your child for Little Orphant Annie. It is just a bit scary.

The Origin Of The Jack-O'-Lantern

 Halloween is coming. I am reposting the story of the origin of the Jack-o-lantern. Please enjoy it.

Stingy Jack was well known around his part of Ireland. He liked his drink and was thought to take liberties with other people's property. He cheated, deceived, and misused anyone he could. Stingy Jack did not particularly care what others thought of him. All that mattered to Stingy Jack was Stingy Jack and his comforts.

Now the devil had been keeping tabs on him. Stingy Jack was a prime candidate for the devil's domain.

One night after a night of heavy drinking, Stingy Jack was stumbling home. He came upon a body lying in the road so he stopped to see if there was anything of value in the pockets.

Suddenly the body moved and jumped up. Stingy Jack realized that it was the devil. Jack's earthly time was to end. But he was not ready to go.

Stingy Jack asked for a last wish. The devil saw no harm in granting a final drink to Stingy Jack. Off they went to the pub. Stingy Jack was a frequent patron and knew the bartender well. As the duo walked through the door the bartender smiled. When Stingy Jack got the best of somebody, the bartender got a nice part of the take.

Stingy Jack proceeded to have a sample or more of every type of drink in the pub. When he finished he told the devil to turn himself into a silver coin to pay the tab. He promised that he would get the coin back so the devil could change back into himself.

The devil turned himself into a coin of silver. Stingy Jack grinned at the bartender who grinned right back. Stingy Jack dropped the coin into his pocket which just happened to also contain a crucifix. The crucifix took away all of the powers the devil had. He begged and begged to be set free.

Stingy Jack, being the kind-hearted soul he was, said he would set the devil free IF the devil would promise not to take his soul for 10 years. Of course the devil agreed.

Ten years passed with Stingy Jack continuing in his evil ways. The devil appeared as he said he would. Stingy Jack knew his time was up. The devil had Stingy Jack by the arm ready to take him to Hell. Stingy Jack asked if the devil would climb the apple tree they were standing next to and pick an apple for him to eat on the way. The devil heaved a heavy sigh and climbed the tree.

While the devil was picking a nice apple Stingy Jack hurriedly surrounded the tree trunk with crucifixes. The devil was stuck in the tree.

Once again the devil found himself pleading for his freedom. Finally Stingy Jack made the devil promise to never take his soul. The devil begrudgingly promised. Stingy Jack took the crosses and happily went home knowing that he had outsmarted the devil.

Stingy Jack continued his evil ways but eventually he died as everyone does. He sat and waited patiently for his turn to enter Heaven. When he approached the gates he was turned away. He was told that he was far too evil to be in Heaven.

With resignation Stingy Jack went to Hell. He knocked on the gates and the devil met him there. The devil reminded Stingy Jack of their agreement and told him that since he could not have the soul there was no place for him in Hell. He was doomed to wander in nothingness for eternity.

It was Stingy Jack's turn to plead. Eventually the devil agreed to give him an ember to light his way through the darkness. Jack placed it in a hollowed turnip or rutabaga to keep from burning his fingers.

Stingy Jack came to be called Jack Of The Lantern or Jack-O'-Lantern. At certain times of the year, such as Halloween, when the world of the dead is close to the living Jack-O'-Lantern is seen wandering.

In Ireland during Halloween the living tried to make sure the dead cannot cross back. They began leaving meals on their doorsteps to keep mischief away. If they had to be out in the night they would wear masks and costumes to fool the spirits so that they would not be molested.

Carved pumpkins called Jack-O'-Lanterns are placed on the doorstep to remind spirits of Jack-O'-Lantern and his plight. They do not want to be caught in between the worlds of the afterlife so they avoid any house that is protected by the Jack-O'-Lantern. 

Becky And The BB Gun

One year for Christmas two of my brothers received BB guns. In the 1950's it was almost a rite of passage for boys to get a gun of their own.

The boys drew targets on the corrugated fence in the chicken yard. They proceeded to take target practice. We could hear the ping ping of the bb's. 

At the time my sister was about 4 years old. Somehow the boys talked her into standing at the fence. She was wearing a little sunsuit like little girls used to wear. 

The boys began shooting at her!

She turned so her back was to them but she was not moving away. I do not know whether she was afraid to move or if they told her she had to stay. Either way they kept shooting.

Of course when we found her she was crying in pain. She had several bb's stuck just under the skin of her back. Mom removed them with tweezers. She recovered quickly.

Of course the boys were punished. And their guns were taken away until they were more mature.

It is only one of the reasons that I do not give weapons as gifts.