Parents; Be aware of what happens in front of children

My first memories.  I was 3 or 4 at the time. Not sure of the age. I grew up in Ethridge, TN a small little town north of Lawrenceburg, TN.   My mother and father owned Nix General Store. One of the nicest around for the time. 1952. My father could not read nor write, my Mom was the strength of the family.

One night in particular I remember a conversation between my Mom and Dad, in fact the only one I remember. They were in the bedroom and I was on the bed. My Mother and father were arguing.  My mother told my father, "Your drunk and you have probably been out with that flussy again".

That night I learned that my father was an alcholic and a womanizer. At that time I did not realize what that all meant. It was shorthly later that my father went to Indianapolis to bail his drunk brother out of jail. They tell me that he had a heart massive attack and drove off the road and later died in the hospital before mom could get there. He was 45 at the time.

Life changed for us at that time. My father had mortgaged the store to the hilt. Mom had to auction the store and sell all the contents to pay the bills. I still don't know if she came out even.

Countless nights I cried myself to sleep wishing I had a father like other little boys. As I now look back on it, I doubt that I would have been better off.

The one thing I remember is that my father was an alcholic and womanizer. Children 4 and 5 years old know what is going on in this world.

All of this was to affect me greatly over the years as you will see in later posts. With all of this said, My father was a great man. When sober he was as kind and gentle as a lamb. I have heard countless men tell me that my dad was so giving that he would give the shirt off his back if he thought you needed it. At that time we sold groceries on credit. I had up until a few years ago an entire footlocker full of books showing what each family owed us. There are promient names among them that never paid us off.   But times change and life goes on. The one thing that would bother my Dad today is that I am a staunch Republican and he was a staunch Democrat. He would roll over over in his grave if he knew that.