IF IT ISN’T MOVING
Pa’s smile got him out of many scrapes caused by his impish sense of humour, but he had a short fuse, and Mum backed him up even when he was wrong, so our teenage years were bumpy.
Even so, the love lingers.
It's strange, the things that stick in one's mind. If he had a tin of paint open he'd paint anything that wasn't moving. My friends still talk about the bright red toilet seat in the cloakroom, with half a phone book on a nail.
For years I believed Pa had
torn that book in half bare-handed, like Desperate Dan.
...............................................................
Rochelle challenged us not to write about the pandemic, or the Toilet Roll Craze, so instead I've written a little autobiographical piece, every word of which is true.
If you go to Rochelle's blog and follow the frog trail you can see if anyone failed to meet the challenge! https://rochellewisoff.com/
That's lovely, Lizy.
ReplyDeleteThanks Helen.
DeleteThere's a trick to tearing a phone book in half. You grip the spine in both hands and twist first. This breaks the spine and allows you to appear strong when you continue the rip
ReplyDeleteAhah! In later years I thought Pa probably used a fretsaw!
DeleteSomehow this read as autobiographical from the start; what a fascinating snippet of memory.
ReplyDeleteThanks Elmo.
DeleteDesperate Dan took me back to childhood and reading the Dandy every week :-)
ReplyDeleteI think he's still around too!
DeleteDear Liz,
ReplyDeleteYou didn't have a dull childhood, did you? I'll forever see the red toilet in my mind.
Shalom,
Rochelle
It wasn't just the toilet seat - he painted the doo and window frames as well!
DeleteQuite a character it seems, I guess life was never dull.
ReplyDeleteIt had its moments :)
DeleteNice blast to the past with good detailing, Liz.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jade.
Deletenobody's perfect. sometimes we have to take the good along with the bad.
ReplyDeleteVery true!
DeleteWhat a memory. I bet the red toilet seat was famous locally.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly was in my school!
DeleteYou paint a vivid picture of the man and the memorable loo, lol.
ReplyDeleteIt was fun to remember both, Dora.
DeleteMy word, Liz! Did any of his children inherit his sense of humor?
ReplyDeleteMine is a bit wayward 😁😁😁
DeleteSweet memory :-)
ReplyDeleteIt is, thank you.
DeleteA red toilet seat and an impish sense of humor...I'm sure there were some fun and interesting times. Lovely piece, Liz!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Brenda, there were!
DeleteHa! Ha! If nothing else he did leave you with memories of a wicked sense of humour. Desperate Dan bought back memories of a hospital stay in England as a child and my introduction to the quirky world of Beano and Dandy.
ReplyDeleteI believe Beano and Dandy are still alive!
DeleteFun story!
ReplyDeleteRonda
Thank you.
Delete