Father is sinking - Part Two

Father is sinking-2

by Nicholas Andrian on Sunday, January 10, 2010 at 1:20am

Yes, our father has always been such a force for his family. If anyone tried to bully us, we were afraid to tell him for fear that he would murder the person! When I was 17 and my brother Rick was eight, a new guy, who had moved into our neighborhood down the Shore, 19 and bigger than me, made some nasty remarks about me to Rick, who, of course, told me. I certainly didn't want to tangle with this guy, but I couldn't let the incident pass, for I didn't want to lose face in my younger brother's eyes. So, I said a prayer, packed Rick in my old Ford and drove to the guy's house. Rick sat watching from the car. I told the would-be bully that I was there to settle things with him. My plan was to turn around and hit him as hard as I could if he tried to step off his porch. Fortunately, my bravado must have put the guy off. When I got done talking, he said "OK, Andrian, you said your piece, now get out of here!" I was only too happy to comply! Not long after, this same pugnacious guy, Dick Jones, saw Rick again at our local candy store hangout and said, "I'll bet your brother thinks he's tough." Rick said he would tell our father this time at which point Jones foolishly threatened to "mop up the parking lot with your old man." Well, father flipped out, jumped into his new Nash Rambler, found Jones standing outside the candy store with a bunch of friends, jumped out of his car and said, "Well, here I am, start mopping." Jones took to his feet and father chased him all over the parking lot but couldn't catch him! A few days later, after his anger had subsided, father saw Jones by the candy store, tapped him on the back of his head with an open hand and said, "Do we understand each other, young fella?" Jones just nodded.