When my eldest brother was dating he brought a young lady home to meet Mom and Dad. This was a custom back in the old days, you know before you could check their profile on Facebook or read their twitter postings. Yup, the poor girl had to make personal contact with," the parents ." Naturally this lead to much anxiety and dare I say, trepidation ? Nerves definitely came into play here. As the kids say today, awkward !
Now this young lady, one of the Disunno girls, possibly Denise, was in my living room for this ritual. Mom and Dad were there, as was I and my other siblings. She had quite the audience I would say. She was visibly nervous to say the least. Not that I blame her, it had to be a pressure filled time. I mean, they were only dating, my brother and her, not getting married or anything. Still she had to endure the scrutiny and that is just what it was. Dad, was saying nothing, just listening. Mom is trying to ease the situation, as Mothers will, and us kids are snickering. The conversation is centering on just chit chat, nothing too serious. The young lady, being a polite and proper guest is admiring our photographs and bric and brac. Her nerves are being strained to the max. Her gaze falls upon a particular picture sitting on the mantle. Like a deer in the headlights she is panicked. The picture is of a young airman from WW2. It is just his head and shoulders. The young lady inquires, " who is this ? " My brother promptly replies, " why that is my father. " Her head swivels to stare at Dad sitting there. Her immediate retort ? What happened ? Dad sits bolt upright in his chair and says, whadda mean what happened ? Mom begins to laugh, we all do. That poor young lady is about to die from embarrassment but there is nothing we can do to help. The moment passes and everyone pretends like nothing was said. Dad settles back into his chair and mumbles something unintelligible. Well, that question, " what happened " was repeated in our home many times after that. It became applicable to almost every situation.
I have that picture and the memory that goes with it. One of life's little treasures. It is a shame that that will pass into history when I do. Well, you had to be there to fully appreciate it. We all have those stories. And that is the story of an inside joke in our family, What Happened I'll bet you have some inside jokes of your own. It is these small things that bind a family together.
Now this young lady, one of the Disunno girls, possibly Denise, was in my living room for this ritual. Mom and Dad were there, as was I and my other siblings. She had quite the audience I would say. She was visibly nervous to say the least. Not that I blame her, it had to be a pressure filled time. I mean, they were only dating, my brother and her, not getting married or anything. Still she had to endure the scrutiny and that is just what it was. Dad, was saying nothing, just listening. Mom is trying to ease the situation, as Mothers will, and us kids are snickering. The conversation is centering on just chit chat, nothing too serious. The young lady, being a polite and proper guest is admiring our photographs and bric and brac. Her nerves are being strained to the max. Her gaze falls upon a particular picture sitting on the mantle. Like a deer in the headlights she is panicked. The picture is of a young airman from WW2. It is just his head and shoulders. The young lady inquires, " who is this ? " My brother promptly replies, " why that is my father. " Her head swivels to stare at Dad sitting there. Her immediate retort ? What happened ? Dad sits bolt upright in his chair and says, whadda mean what happened ? Mom begins to laugh, we all do. That poor young lady is about to die from embarrassment but there is nothing we can do to help. The moment passes and everyone pretends like nothing was said. Dad settles back into his chair and mumbles something unintelligible. Well, that question, " what happened " was repeated in our home many times after that. It became applicable to almost every situation.
I have that picture and the memory that goes with it. One of life's little treasures. It is a shame that that will pass into history when I do. Well, you had to be there to fully appreciate it. We all have those stories. And that is the story of an inside joke in our family, What Happened I'll bet you have some inside jokes of your own. It is these small things that bind a family together.
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