ONE LAST THING

The Stranger in Our House

Here's a unique thought provoker, be careful of the little sister has always been a caution, right?  Read on.  I didn't figure this one out until near the end.  CD

A few months before I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small Tennessee 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 to welcome me into the world a few months later. 

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 the Word of God, and Dad taught me to obey it. 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 her room and read her books (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 longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush.

My Dad was a teetotaler who didn't permit alcohol in the home, not even for cooking.  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. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first.  Still, if you were to walk into my parent's den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner,  waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name?...

We just call him, "TV."

TV has a younger sister now. We call her, "Computer."

Answer to Funny Words in Gathering Activities -

In all of the words listed, if you take the first letter, place it at the end of the word, and then spell the word backwards, it will be the same word. Did you figure it out?

In attempting to find the source of this item that my Aunt Betty in Florida sent me I “Googled” the first line.  I got 366.000 hits.  Checking the first two pages I found numerous copies posted on the Internet with various credits.  There were several names and many Unknowns.  If someone knows the original source, please send it.  CD