For twenty one years, I lived in Bayside, L.I. There were many children in our neighborhood. The average family consisted of two parents and two to three children, with the exception of one which had seven offspring. In the 1920's through 1930's, we were mostly Irish, Polish and German. We all got along well enough with the exception of a couple who had their spats on occasion, especially when one neighbor kept his dog tied up all day and night regardless of the weather. The only shelter was an opening in a small area in back of the house with little protection from the wind and cold of a L.I. winter. The one neighbor not only wanted to sleep at night but was concerned for the poor animal. Thankfully, we did not live too closely to that thoughtless neighbor; however, the howling dog could be heard for several blocks.
One of my little friends, Evelyn, lived two blocks away. I thought she was nice and friendly. Upon inviting me to her home one afternoon, she said she wanted me to see her pets. Hoping to see kittens or puppies, I was aghast to see several terrariums with snakes of all sizes. I hate snakes and anything else that slivers about. As long as she kept the lids on top of the glass containers, I wasn't too frightened. Some snakes were quite long and fat. She said they were fed mice. Suppose the glass broke, i thought to myself. Her mom and dad were doctors and allowed their only child a lot of freedom. I thought she had too much freedom, especially with her tongue. When she refused to do something her mother requested of her, Evelyn alarmed me with the words she used to sass her mother. Her mother's response was, "Now Evelyn dear, I'm sure you will want to think about your answering me in that manner and want to apologize. Perhaps Evelyn thought about her fresh mouth, but did not apologize.
One day, I thought I would refuse to do something my mom asked me to do. I never acted up before, but took a chance. I sassed my dear, sweet mother. My father heard me from the next room. He quickly swept me off the floor and put me across his knees where i got a sound and well deserved spanking. My father used his psychology. If a child sasses his parents, a reminder on the seat of his pants works best. That was the only time my father ever laid a hand on me and his method worked far better than Evelyn's mother's method.
Another friend was Alice. She was about twelve and I was eleven. Her favorite thing to do on a beautiful summer day was to sit in her garden and listen to classical music. She had a very handsome big brother, a fifteen year old high school man. He didn't know I existed. Regardless, it wasn't fun to be sitting listening to classical music all afternoon anyway. I appreciate it more now and enjoy certain classicals immensely, but for an eleven year old, it didn't compete with riding a bike and playing games. I liked action. Maybe Alice became a virtuoso when she grew up, but I never heard anything about it.
When I got into high school, I was invited to pledge for a sorority. It was named Phi Beta something or other, but it didn't mean enough to me to remember. After accepting the invitation, I was sorry and regretted that I was voted in. At first, I was somewhat proud to be wearing the black sweater with the white lettering signifying my membership. However, I thought to myself, "What have I gotten myself into." My thoughtful father hit the nail on the head, so to speak, when he said with tongue in cheek, "Berta belongs to a snob club". Some of the girls were very nice, but some thought they were God's answer to womanhood and snobbish, also. I noticed how they acted toward girls outside the sorority. I don't, nor ever did like snobs. Many were obsessed with their clothes and appearance. Most high school girls have that desire to look great and be popular, however this group carried their obsession a notch further. A few had vicious tongues, especially with "outsiders" whom they didn't even know.
A favorite verse of mine is in St. James, chapter 3, verses three thu ten. I didn't know this verse when I was a kid, but it would have been good if these particular girls learned it. I'll mention one verse here. "See how the tiny spark is that sets a huge forest ablaze: The tongue is such a flame". So far as I know, those girls didn't give me any trouble, however, I decided I didn't want to be part of their group and soon found a good reason to resign gracefully.
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