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Dad stood in the middle of our bedroom and was positioned so that every boy could both see and hear him. Peter was hiding under the covers in hopes that if he couldn’t see Dad, then maybe Dad couldn’t see him.
Dad was speaking in the quiet voice that parents do so well. It was a low hiss and yet it carried emotion very well. I could tell Dad wanted to yell, but was restraining himself because he didn’t want to wake the baby.
Dad was mad.
“How many times do your mother and I have to send you to bed?” he asked. His hiss had a distinct pleading ring to it.
Simon and I were old enough to know a rhetorical question when we heard it, but Peter hadn’t quite figured it out. His muffled reply came from under the covers. “I don’t know, maybe 6?” he guessed.
“NO!” my father yelled quietly. The lump of covers that was Peter fell back against the wall. “I don’t want to hear another sound from this room or there will be some serious consequences!”
[This message has been edited by firemeboy (edited September 25, 2003).]
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Just a quick query - how do you yell quietly? I don't think its something I could manage. Maybe you develop that kind of skill as a parent, though.
Posts: 626 | Registered: Jun 2003
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You're one up on me, I only have three (only!) , but my parents had 10, count them, 10 boys. That is what the story is 'loosely' based on. It's a fictional family that has 7 boys. I'm currently finishing up with an editor and then hope to 'shop' it around.
Posts: 10 | Registered: Sep 2003
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I think there was quiet yelling because Dad had gone hoarse hollering at the kids and this was the best he could do.
Posts: 32 | Registered: Aug 2003
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I don't know. My step-father is actually capable of yelling without raising his voice at all. You only realize he's yelling because you notice you're cringing. Posts: 293 | Registered: Apr 2003
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One of my other phrases that might not seem possible, is something that we practiced every sunday in church; contact reverence. On an extremely reverent day, you might end up with a bloody nose.
Posts: 10 | Registered: Sep 2003
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We were all more for discrete pinching than full contact reverence. Though naturally the reactions weren't always as discrete as the pinching. I developed the famed "psy-pinch" and less feared "tele-tickle" technology from that early training.
Posts: 8322 | Registered: Aug 1999
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Back to the original post. Where exactly is the "humor" here? I can see many humorous situations in a family with lots of boys, but the scene depicted sounds way too much like my day to day reality (how did I end up being the evil dad?).
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