Copyright John Nixon
A great photo this week that really made me smile. Once again Rochelle hosts Friday Fictioneers, and for once I’ve got no internet restrictions. Yay! 🙂
Birthday parties were the total pits; his need to entertain was almost manic.
“Your Dad’s real cool,” my friends would say, falling about laughing.
“He’s a real dork,” I’d think, cringing as he performed his latest party trick. I just wanted a father like other kids had, someone you could respect.
“You shouldn’t have encouraged him,” I told my mother years later, “he became totally ridiculous.”
She glanced towards the faded photograph of Dad in his army uniform, before fixing me with a gently reproachful gaze.
“If he hadn’t made people laugh,” she whispered, “he would have made them cry.”
castelsarrasin 
Sweet 😉
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Thank you, Alastair.
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🙂
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Dear Sandra,
Many layers to this. Brilliant. Beautiful. Well-crafted. Can’t say enough about it.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks Rochelle, glad you enjoyed it. Great photo choice.
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The Dad’s army uniform and the Mom’s words..really well done
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Thank you! 🙂
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Too many times, too true, Sandra. Very nice.
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Thanks vb. 🙂
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That’s a good one with Father’s Day coming up (at least in North America). I’ve known a lot of dads like that, although luckily none of them mine. 🙂
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It’s Father’s Day this weekend here in the UK. Thanks for reading David.
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Two sides of the same coin – told well
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Thank you!
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The sound of everyone’s laughter likely crowded out the memories that plagued him.
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True Joe. Thanks for reading.
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Very nice, Sandra.
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Thanks Catherine. 🙂
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Well done on bringing depth by the photo and mom’s line. Dives deeper than the narrator’s resentment.
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Hi zookyworld; I wanted to provide a contrast here, hope it worked.
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Those last couple of lines are so touching, darling. Very nicely done.
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Thanks Helena! 😉
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As usual, Sandra, excellent work this week! The goods were delivered on time and on the money! Hoorah!
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Thanks Kent! 🙂
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Bitter sweet memory. It reminds me of the film ‘Brassed Off’.
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Was that the Peter Postlethwaite one about the colliery band?
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Beautiful. The embarrassment of the child is palpable and then you hit us with a nice depth of field at the end. nicely done, Sandra.
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Thanks Jennifer, glad you liked it.
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Sandra, well written, amazing depth for 100 words. Telling both the backstory while filling in with emotions. Good one! 🙂
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Thanks Penny! 🙂
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This pained me. That last line hurt.
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It’s one I’m sure I’ve heard before, but it seemed to fit here. Thanks for reading.
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Sanda, this was beautiful. Good job!
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Thank you!
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Sandra, you caught all sides of the family situation perfectly. I could feel the child’s embarrassment, the father’s need and the mother’s love.
janet
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Thanks Janet, hope all is well with you.
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I love the ending! I like that her Dad silliness was redeemed in the end. 😀
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We do tend to sit in judgement on our parents,without giving a thought to why they behave the way they do.
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Very nice! 🙂 Deep in feeling.
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Thank you Shainbird! 🙂
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The agony of embarrassment over one’s parents’ behaviour can hover overhead long into adulthood. But why do they do what they do? When we learn to look beyond ourselves to find their motivations, is that when we begin to grow up? Glad you liked the photo.
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Sometimes when you look back and realise that they were actually younger than you are now when they did whatever it is you’re judging, it puts things into a clearer perspective and lends a bit of understanding.
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That’s very true. Perspective can alter perception quite dramatically. My grandfather – mother’s father born in 1897 – whom I never met, had ambitions to be a poet. He was something of a joke in the family for that. A notebook turned up and got passed around, and his poetry really wasn’t very good. Then one day I thought to work out how old he was when he wrote the poems we all laughed at – and realised I was already old enough to be that poet’s father. It gave me pause.
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Nice revelation at the end – it adds depth to the child’s perceptions, a real learning moment. Perhaps it changed the kid’s view…
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I’d hope so. Thanks for reading.
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We’re always learning new things about our parents, aren’t we? Great story.
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We tend to have expectations of them, in just the way that they do for us, I guess. Thanks for reading.
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Very nice story. Shows the need for fun and silliness in the face of the seriousness & often tragic nature of life.
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Life’s a mix, that’s for sure. Thanks for reading Perry.
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Perfect story for Father’s Day, and very moving 🙂
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Thanks Trudy. 🙂
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That is a beautiful story and tribute to your father, Sandra, if it is indeed your own father in the story. Sometimes it is the laughter, jokes and storytelling that heals and binds the hearts and lives together, no matter if there were some people who did not enjoy or could relate to them. I did a special tribute and poem to my father too, and early one posted last Sunday to use for a word prompt, ‘memories.’ It is under my newest story chapter of one I am working on, if you’d like to read it.
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Thanks Joyce, I’ll pop over to your site shortly. This wasn’t about my own father, though I think I tell his story many times in different ways. Thanks for reading and commenting, have a good weekend.
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Oh, bittersweet. Sometimes kids need to understand the depths of their parents to appreciate them. This was wonderful.
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Sometimes I think our expectations are too high; for most of our lives they’re only older versions of us, until one day we find that we are older versions of them. Sometimes I think back to things my parents were doing when they were the age that I am now. It kind of puts things into perspective. 😉
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a great take on the prompt 🙂
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Very well done Sandra, and the last line was worth a tear or two. Beautiful.
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Great title. Bitter-sweet story.
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I think my son at 15 has some of those feelings. We are a constant source of embarassment to him. Good times!
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One of your best Sandra. Well done.
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Oh, Sandra, such a powerful story. I’m amazed at how you pulled it together. You’re a master. – Amy
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A flash with great depth and punch!
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That last line is a real killer… Really a lot of depth in this story…
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Contrast achieved – makes me wonder the whole story. I’m supposedly a cool mom (even to my 17 year old), but I wonder what’s going on there. Nicely done.
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Quality writing. Lots in this story. I like the juxtaposition of the two uniforms: clown and military. Meaningful use of the prop. I like the layering of times. Ann
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This really expresses a universal sentiment. Poor dads. I’ve had to stop dancing!
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Oh, wow, this says so much in so few words. Very nice.
Here’s mine: http://unexpectedpaths.com/friday-fictioneers/simon-sez/
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a beautiful tale.. that last line is so great
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How sad that this is so often the truth. God bless our servicemen and women.
Well written with much depth of feeling.
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Very sad – father playing the clown to hide from his memories. The child’s embarrassment and mother’s caring both come across really clearly.
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I appreciate fathers like this. My Dad is also a real card. The Joker.
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So much going on in this one – the teenager, inevitably embarrassed by his dad; the manic father with a dark past; and a bit of mystery (at least to me) – does mother mean he’d make them cry by telling them about the horrible things he’s been through, or would he make them cry by lashing out dangerously?
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i love your story how in the child’s embarrassment for the father, the mother tries to enlighten her child (to be grateful) if the father was different. i felt this mother’s pain.
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HI Sandra – I thought you were going for funny there, but that last line was so sad. Beautifully done 🙂
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