A few years after I was born, my Dad met a
stranger who was new to our small town.
From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with
this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our
family.
The
stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.
As I grew up,
I never questioned his place in my family.
In
my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary
instructors:
Mom
taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey.
But
the stranger... he was our storyteller.
He
would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and
comedies.
If I wanted to know anything about
politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past,
understood the present and even seemed able to predict the
future!
He
took my family to the first major league ball game.
He
made me laugh, and he made me cry.
The
stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.
Sometimes,
Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen
to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and
quiet.
(I
wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)
Dad ruled our household with certain
moral convictions,
but the stranger never
felt obligated to honor them.
Profanity, for example, was not allowed in
our home - not from us, our friends or any visitors.
Our
long time visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears
and made my dad squirm and my mother blush.
My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of
alcohol but the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular
basis.
He
made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly, and pipes
distinguished.
He
talked freely (much too freely!) about sex.
His
comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally
embarrassing.
I now know that my early concepts about relationships were
influenced strongly by the stranger.
Time after time, he opposed the values of
my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked ... And NEVER asked to leave.
More than fifty years have passed since the
stranger moved in with our family.
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