Day 216 CJSM

Day 216

 

 

Eight o’clock = bed time for the girls

 

 

Lady Candy made most of the rules (very few, actually) and I served as “enforcer” to her fiat.

One of the dire dictates of our matron was a curfew on bedtime for the kids---dreaded…8 pm.

Ole Dad managed to delay the ordeal as long as possible; my playmates bedtime signaled an end to the day’s adventures; what could the “adult” father conjure up to raise havoc---alone!?

So, first we pretended to “forget” the time; then, we played kiss and hug everyone “Good-night!” for ten or fifteen minutes, then, we just had to have snack and a glass of Kool-aide.

When the warden began to raise her voice at the “kids” obvious delays with more and more excuses each night, the enforcer would put his foot down and demand that the “inmates” hit the sheets with a threatened “lights-out!” ultimatum. Boy! That got the rascals under the covers!?

Of course, Ole Dad then slipped into Miss Becky’s bedroom (Beth always went right to sleep) with a “snack”, which she always remembered to request (Daddy? Can I have a surprise?”) after she had been exiled to dreamland; the warden would announce that “You already had your snack” to which the horrid enforcer, Dad, fresh from the refrigerator, would reiterate the official verdict with, “Your surprise tonight is---No surprise! Then, I’d give Miss Rachel a piece of cheese---such late night tomfoolery demanded, of course…another glass of Kool-aide to wash it down. Seems Miss Becky and that Rebel! Rascal! Rogue! Pappy could procrastinate with the very best of them! Yes Siree! I reckon that’s true enough!

But, don’t you go away feeling sorry for us “kids”! No! Sir! We plied our tricks at every stage! And, when (if?) the adults caught on---well, now…we had us a bag chock full of “fun”!

That---you can safely…bet on! Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? He already  knows them---all! And---then some you ain’t even pondered…I reckon that to be true! Yes! Sir!

And, of course, I never grew up into an “adult” carrying on the tradition with Z. Tyler!

Maybe it’s true---I never amounted to much of anything…I sure enough know how to have fun! All you erudite-sophisticates with the high intellect go and make your rules; I’ll break ’em!

 

Ah! Cookie Jar Sweet “Not---bed time!” Memories!