Dragonlane Artisan Jewellery

(My sister with our mom and dad)

My dad’s nickname was Spike and he was known by that name by almost everyone. It also suited him down to the ground. He was short and stocky and he had a bad temper. We lived on tenterhooks in our house, as you can imagine.

In his younger days, before he became a born-again Christian, and when my oldest sister was but a wee girl, he apparently used to swear at other drivers on the road while he was driving. They irritated him something shocking and he would let fly when someone was too slow or changed lanes in front of him.  

So fast forward several years to January 2017, when I was a passenger in the car that my oldest sister was driving.  

Let me first just say this about my sister: she is a classy woman. She is a retired teacher and librarian and as such, her language and writing is impeccable. She is a mother and grandmother to wonderful children. She’s sensible and knows just what to do in every situation and is the first one to chip in and help out when people need a friend (or an older sister). She is very measured and careful with her words and that is why my mouth hung open on that day last month in the car while she was driving.  

After she finished telling off the driver of the car ahead of us she looked over at me and saw the look on my face.

“WELL???” She said.

“Little Spike. Spike Jr. That’s you. You sound like dad!!!”  

So we had a good laugh about that and my sister recalled a hazy memory of her cursing in the car with our dad when she was a very little girl.  

I asked my mom about that story yesterday and she said, “Oh yes!! She did. She stuck her head out of the car window and swore at another driver. She had a terrible mouth. She cussed all the time. That’s what made your dad stop swearing.”

She cussed all the time. 

 That tickled me because she doesn’t use foul language and she despairs when she hears any of her loved ones use it. As I said, she’s a classy woman. But if you happen to be on the road driving the car in front her, you’d better drive fast and don’t make any quick stops or unexpected lane changes.