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Life with Jake....

My dad's name is Jake.  He is Italian.  He likes perfect world order and is so tight with money, pennies scream in anguish.  

I haven't lived with my parents since I was 18 years old, yet I remember it vividly, the way all kids remember their childhood. I remember my dad being very strict and money conscious (which translates to tight-wad or thrifty - depending on your point of view and terminology).   Since my move to Texas, I've been traveling back and forth between Alabama and Texas quite a bit, which warrants frequent stays with my parents.

When I was a child, we were not allowed to paint our room a color.  To Jake, white was a color and was the only color necessary on walls. We lived in something similar to a cave.  On the outside, it resembled a house, but inside it was always dark.  Drapes covered our windows.  You know, the ones that look like curtains but are lined with some cancer-causing agent that blocks light?  We were never allowed to leave them open to allow light into the house.  If we opened them during the winter, we were releasing heat into the outdoors.  If we opened them in the summer, we were cooling everything from our front porch to the first layer of ozone.  He was the same way with the doors -- we weren't allowed to open them.  You had to remain ultra-thin in our house so you could slink through the cracks in the door rather than open it for coming and going.  Every time it was opened or closed, it cost him money.  He took it as a personal affront to his wallet.  (Side note:  My dad was the youngest of six kids, all born during the depression.  I am going to blame his money issues on the fact that his family suffered through that nasty part of history and not the fact that he was an auditor.)

I had hoped that in my dad's "older age" he had mellowed somewhat.  I was wrong.  As my son and I opened the door to enter his house, he yelled out from the den "close the door, you are letting the cold air out"!!!  I guess some things never change!

I'm just sayin',



Comments

Edward G. Roberts said…
"Cold Air"??!! Since when did Jake start running the air conditioner? He's getting loose with the pocketbook in his retirement years.
Thursday, August 04, 2011 4:58:00 PM
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