Isaiah 6:8

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Monday, January 17, 2011

Father Knows Best

My daddy was a wonderful guy.  I absolutely adored him.  He saw that I had everything I needed....and enough of my wants to make me appreciate them.  We were not rich by any means....we were blessed.....I just did not know it at the time.  My friends all had things I didn't and wanted desperately....homemade and hand-me-downs were a major part of my vocabulary....and wardrobe.  One year, near my birthday, after having watched the comedy show Laugh-In, I asked my daddy for some go-go boots for my birthday.  I learned really fast never to do that again.  I had never seen my father go into such a snit over a pair of shoes.  "Daddy," I whined, "All the girls are wearing them."  To which he replied, "And if all the girls jumped off the Tampa Bay Bridge....would you be joining them?"  I truly was shocked.  This man was the love of my life....and he was denying me a basic need want.....white go-go boots.  I cried....and even my tears did not move the man....he responded firmly, "This is a Christian household and I will not have my daughter parading around West Palm Beach like a common hooker."  I was old enough to know that the hooker he was talking about had nothing to do with fishing....and knew I had better leave this one alone.  The vein in the left side of his neck was standing up....and his caterpillar eyebrow on the right side of his face was raised.  This was serious....so I began to back paddle and changed the subject....rapidly.  I gave up my dream of a cute little neon striped knit short dress (mini skits were popular then) and a pair of go-go boots.  Daddy bought me a pair of Weejuns with tassles instead....they were sturdy and sensible shoes.  Fast forward to the 90's.  During a time of pro-ration at the school our faculty had a Faculty Follies to raise money for the school.  The teachers put together a revue for the kids on the last day of school before spring break and then redid it that night for the community.  Costumes for one of the acts included go-go boots.  One of my fellow teachers had a pair of navy blue ones....in my size....and she let me try them on and wear them awhile.  You know...they were terribly uncomfortable...so knowing my daddy was right about the things...I traded them back to Leigh and slipped into my Weejuns....with tassels....and continued practice.  I guess Father Really Does Know Best huh?

5 comments:

Skoots1moM said...

weejuns...i had some of those...

btw...ed grooms is my stepdad...he married my mom in 1993...my daddy died from lung cancern in 1990 and daddy never got to meet my daughter. But, POPS has been a God-given granddaddy to my girl! We love him so much and all his family...my girl has LOTS of cousins through his side of the family ;) Can't wait to tell mother and Ed I've found you on the blog. Have a great week.

Mimi said...

Great story!

Hugs & love,
Mimi

Pamela said...

I love this story! How well I remember those days--and I didn't get a pair either although my cousins did. And maybe Father was right because my lifestyle is far removed from many of my cousins.

Mid-Atlantic Martha said...

I begged and begged to get my ears pierced -- my dad felt like your's did about the go-go boots. Well, I finally did get them pierced when I was 25 -- and felt a little guilty (by then though, even my mother had pierced ears!)

Xazmin said...

I loved this post! Hilarious what your dad said! I didn't realize go go boots were "hooker-is", but that's a good father looking out for you!

p.s. I think the ones in the picture are freakin' cute!!