Life on Second Row, Piano Side: Mama's Stories About Daddy

Life wasn't always so serious on The Second Row, Piano Side.

When we were in church it was serious business, but even mama got tickled sometimes-like when Daddy said, "Ya'll get comfortable now and take your clothes off."

In the south, we are known for having a bit of a drawl.  Well, when you get to GA Backroads, USA, you'll hear an even different drawl-like adding "er" to any word that ends in "a."  Mama, bless her heart, tried to make sure that Daddy chose his words carefully as he usually preached his sermon to her first.  He could sure draw out those syllables.  For example, Florida was "Flaurder", Atlanta was "Atlanter", Hawaii was "Hiwarer".  He often talked about the missionaries in "Afercer."  The whole church quickly caught on and we'd all be laughing and Daddy didn't miss a beat; he kept right on preaching.  Somewhere a long the way he heard someone say, "Bass-ackwards."  He was too country or niave to know that it was a-- backwards said backwards.  He thought it meant doing something the wrong way. "Daddy, do you know what you said today?"  Mama always critiqued his sermons.

Night Watchman at Trevecca Nazarene College 1948,

asleep on the job?

 

Mama was a stand-by-your-man kind of woman.  She said, "I've always got my eyes open.  It's not your daddy I don't trust; I know women."  A young pastor's wife with a young preacher man had to!  Daddy was only 18 years old when he started the church.  There was a church member who had seizures and she was kinda sweet on daddy.  Mama would say, "Seizures, my foot!  She's got a thing for you."  One night after church, she had what everyone thought was a seizure and fell all over daddy. Mama replays the scene, "Her feet when up in the air and she landed right on top of your daddy. You could see everything she had." I said, "Well, mama that didn't mean she didn't have a seizure."  She replied, "Ask your daddy, he'll tell you."  All Daddy could do was laugh and shake his head at mama's story.

Mama said Daddy had an inferiority complex.  Here he looks like he's trying to be stud muffin!

There was another lady that mama said was "sweet on daddy."  Daddy always visited his members in their homes.  When mama felt it necessary she went along.  I guess she thought it necessary this time.  In her story she writes, "Daddy was always nervous and had to be doing something with his hands. We hadn't gotten in the door good and he was fiddling with this thing on the table. I looked down and he's holding something in his hand.  It was a false 'boobie'.  Daddy got out of there before I knew what had happened."  (Who knew they had falsies back in the day?)

Daddy was a gentle man.  I can only remember two times that he spanked me.  I think he learned from his mistakes with my brother.  Both spankings I got were for laughing at someone.  Both times he came from behind and picked my feet off the ground with one lick of his belt.  Hurting other people was something he would not tolerate.  I don't know that he ever spanked one of the grandchildren, but one time he came close. 

My son was a busy, strong-willed little fellow.  He was about 2-3 years old and was standing on a stool close to the brick hearth.  The stool was unsteady.  "Son, get down from there before you fall."  My son ignores him.  "Son, I said get down from there before you fall."  My son ignores him.  A few minutes later my son is still standing and no one has said a word.  All of a sudden, we hear this loud commotion.  Mama has been watching the whole thing from the kitchen.  Daddy goes to blowing like a woman in labor, pulls off his 50" belt like a whip, jumps up from his recliner and scares my son to death.  All I heard was a thump, thump, thumb as he pulled the belt off and whipped it around in one swing. My son let out a wail that sent chills down my spine.  Mama runs in the den with her hands on her hips, "Daddy, you stop that right now.  You have scared that baby to death.  If you were gonna whip him you should have done it the first time.  He doesn't even know what he's done now.  It's been 15 minutes since you told him to get down."  My son is crying and I'm laughing my head off at the ridiculous exchange that is going on between my mama and daddy.  My how things had changed!  Mama, who was brutal with me at times, would not nor would she let anyone else touch her grandchildren.

My mama loved her some "Daddy" and my daddy loved him some "Mama."  They called each other "Mama" and "Daddy."  I rarely heard them call each other by name.

This was a Piano Side Pose:)