Times Remembered
My parents were not to be trifled with. Father’s family was old world Italian. He was the first generation born here and only spoke English, although he understood Italian just fine when grandma was yelling at him. He worked hard as a plumber every day in other people’s dirt and grime and drank one Strohs beer each night. I was embarrassed that he got undressed on the porch at the end of the day, leaving his soiled clothes for my mother.
We watched Perry Mason and the Black Hawks most evenings. He wasn’t like the other fathers who were thin and wore suits. He boxed when he was younger and won Golden Gloves. His pinky would have worn a size 13 ring, if he had worn such things. He was huge and strong like the centerbeam of our house.
Mother managed the house and some rental properties. Dinner was on the table at half past five every single night and there was always meat, a vegetable, and white Wonder bread. God help you if you were late. No one ever tested those dangerous waters.
She was fiercely protective of her four daughters although she didn’t like children. She was part Cherokee and lost family on the Trail of Tears and you really didn’t want to cross her. When a counselor at school missed a deadline so I wasn’t eligible for the Rhodes Scholar, she about tore the place down. When my sister’s mother in law to be called her a nigger because of her dark, native american skin, my mother wrote a blistering letter to their pastor.
Communication wasn’t big in our house. He and mother spoke with looks that seemed to slide away from us like bacon grease on a hot day. You could never tell what they were saying exactly but you knew thoughts had passed.
Our family had a falling out with the Catholic church before I was born even though my grandmothers’ parish priest was to become Pope John Paul the second. Whatever the Catholic church did, it must have been bad and my parents weren’t putting up with it. We became occasional Methodists.
I was bred to be independent and I fought to get a job even though mother told me school was my job. I was tired of having one pair of stiff blue jeans at the beginning of each school year for a wardrobe. I felt poor and I hated wearing the clothes she made. She was a gifted seamstress. She made mine and each of my sister’s wedding dresses and she would make suits that looked like they were bought. I didn’t appreciate her skill till I got older and she was gone.
As kids, we ran feral during the day until dinner. One day when I was twelve, I ran home crying and shaking. My mother, turned away from the potatoes and said, “What?”
“Some guy was playing with us.”
The wooden spoon moved to more of a clubbing position. “What do you mean, ‘playing’?” This was before Mr. Stranger Danger.
“I was with Jean at the playground and some older guy came. He was smoking and throwing lit cigarettes down the slide at us. I ran but Jean thought it was funny and stayed to smoke with him.”
Jean was a sophisticated 14. She was everything I wanted to be: tall with long blond hair, colt like legs with an attractive overbite that made her seem like she was smiling all the time.
My mother resumed stirring. Late that night, the police came and we found out Jean didn’t make it home. I was interviewed barely awake, sitting between my Mother and Father and I remember waves of anger cycling off my parents.
Jean was returned home after three days but I wasn’t allowed to see her. The family moved away and I never saw her again or found out what happened.
A few weeks after they left, something woke me up in the dark hours before dawn. Someone was rummaging in our garage. I crept to my window and peeked out.
My father’s huge silhouette came out and looked around as if sniffing the air. The hum of neighborhood air conditioners buzzed through the night and people turned the porch light out when they went to bed back then. He came out with a loaded wheelbarrow. In the shadow from the scant moonlight I could see it was heavy.
He wheeled it out to the vacant property he owned next door. He’d always meant to build a house on it but the village blocked him because the church adjacent wanted it. He dumped whatever it was into a deep hole he’d dug earlier in the day with his backhoe. He hand shovelled the volume of dirt back in and planted a peach tree he’d purchased, on top. I would never eat the fruit from that tree.
He came back, took off his work clothes outside like usual and sat down at the kitchen table in his underwear. My mother greeted him with a beer and they talked so quietly I couldn’t hear. At the time, I remember being amazed he was up past 9 pm on a work night.
When he died, I claimed the red wheelbarrow. It was more rusted than red and the handles gave me splinters, but I’m kind of a tool gal and I figured it would be safe with me. And, it turns out, useful.
I have a beautiful granddaughter who loves gymnastics. None of the parents care too much when the coach hugs and pets the girls, but I feel the streak of violence from my Italian and Cherokee heritage vibrate like the low string on a guitar. The instincts that made me run when I was 12 are still intact.
I’m old now and not as strong as my father, but I can still manage to slide my new peach tree into the shallow hole. Mother and Father would be so proud.
Oh this was chilling Dixie. Like father, like daughter, eh? Those types got justice. The red wheelbarrow came in mighty handy. Love the line: ‘He and mother spoke with looks that seemed to slide away from us like bacon grease on a hot day.’ Packs a lot in a single sentence.
I’ m glad you got the comments sorted Dixie. So many people have tried. I hope you find the time to return the compliment. There’s quite a list on the WEP blog of people who’ve tried.
Thanks for posting for WEP.
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Thanks for the comments. I don’t know what happened with comments. I never changed the settings. Glad I could figure it out. I love the comments, especially constructive ones!
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I am so very glad that we can now comment. This is such a powerful piece.
I may look at fresh peaches differently now, but I am so very glad that justice was served.
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In real life, it never was. So glad I could rewrite history in my writing. Thanks for the comments
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A woman after my own heart. No one messes with my kid. No one.
I particularly liked the unspoken dialogue between the parents – they were so on the same page – loved it.
And, no peaches for me, thanks!!
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Yes, my parents had their own special “look language”. They were married 49 years. Thanks for the comments.
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I came back because I had to give you a thumbs up on this one, and I couldn’t before. Loved it.
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Thanks.
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A granny vigilante. I think I approve, but I wouldn’t eat those peaches either.
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Forbidden fruit, yeas?
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Yes, I believe her parents would be very pleased. Sometimes a temper can be a good thing 🙂
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The cold calculating temper is my fav. Thanks for comments
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The peach trees appear to be getting some high-quality fertilizer – yikes! Really well written – loved it!
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Thanks for the comment.
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Great use of words doing double duty. Some people receive justice from caring women – deserved justice. (Even if my cops punish vigilantes.) I liked the peach tree at the end. Deceptive opening too.
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Thanks for the comments.
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Hi,
I so enjoyed reading your story. it reminded me of my own home and of my father who had a way of commanding me and my siblings when we were young. My father was very proud of me too. I was the first one to receive a college degree in his family and that made him very proud. Thank you for sharing this beautiful autobiography piece. You should think about writing a story about your life.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G
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I have friends who think I should dig up the tree, but some memories are better buried.
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An interesting vignette, with a rich sense of imagery. Well done.
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Thanks
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Powerful and chilling. Magnificent job! The grand arc of rough-n-ready justice and two generations of strong men and women – has the expansive feel of a much longer tale. Kudos!
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Thanks
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I’m glad they were taught their lesson. I love the way you ended it with the peach tree.
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I had to come back to your blog to tell you how masterfully you wrote that story. It’s a subject that always gives me the creeps and you combined it with a quiet and chilling taking the law into your own hands. The ending was a surprise.
I must say I had to go back and read it again because I wasn’t sure who was the source of the peach tree. We have what they call honour killings in our part of the world and a raped woman is often murdered by her family.
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Ah, interesting. Knowing my father, I don’t think it was Jean
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