When Betty was a little girl about seven years old, her mother was working. She stayed at times with Claire Harding whom she affectionately called Grandma Harding. Many times, her stays with the Hardings were overnight.
Grandma Harding's father, Van, lived with her. This tall, somewhat vain man would comb his gray hair over the top of his bald head to make himself look younger and more vibrant. Van was very impatient with children. During the days, he would work in the yard or garden. One sunny Saturday morning Van went for a walk. When he came back into the house he was tired. As there was no television to watch, he laid down on the davenport for a nap. As he laid down, his carefully crafted comb over fell from his bald head and was hanging down.
Betty thought that he would look much better without that ugly gray hair hanging down from his head. She went to Grandma Harding's desk and picked up the silver scissors with the shiny black handles. In short order, Van's unsightly fringe was lying in a heap on the floor. No sooner had Betty cropped Van's head than the gray cat caught her eye. She went up to pet it and lovingly carried it over to where the scissors were. With a quick snip, snip the cat's whiskers had been removed and dropped into the waste basket, and the scissors were returned to the desk.
Betty was soon occupied with a coloring book when she heard Van rise from his nap and go into the bathroom. The door squeaked slightly as it closed. When Van was washing his hands, he looked into the mirror and let out a howl calling for Claire. Betty knew what was coming.
Claire was amused by the situation, but she knew that this was no time for humor. She summoned Betty and asked, "Betty Ann, did you cut Van's hair off while he was sleeping?"
With all the surprise she could muster, she responded, "Oh, no, I didn't do it."
Claire noticed the scissors on the desk with remnants of gray hair in them. She picked up the scissors and showed them to Betty. "There's some hair in these scissors." She pointed out. "There is no one else in the house but you and me and Van. Now, did you cut Van's hair?"
Betty felt a terrible weight on her shoulders as she knew that he had misused the scissors and that she had lied about it. Through tears and sobs, she admitted that she was guilty. Van was not satisfied. He insisted that Betty be taught a lesson and she received a spanking.
Claire noticed that the cat was navigating with difficulty. She would bump into things and ran somewhat clumsily. Upon inspecting the cat, Grandma Harding noticed that she had no whiskers. Betty was again summoned. Claire didn't even have to ask Betty if she had done it. Her streaming tears told on her.
Scissors still are appealing to Betty. She loves preparing hand outs for her Primary class with cut paper. It's not unusual to see her take a pair of scissors to a waistline that fits to tight. At regular intervals, I can walk into the bathroom to find Betty standing in a pile of her own hair even though Brenda complains about repairing her haircuts. I will never have a comb over, nor will I trust Betty with a pair of scissors.
8 comments:
I could have sworn that this post was over on another blog just a few seconds ago.
The comment by Gatha was axed in the process.
It was on the other blog. I had intended to post it here in the first place.
I apologize for axing the comment by Mother. I'll call her and
apologize.
Please remember that this is an informal forum and there will be mistakes made.
I don't want you to think that I was upset or even very concerned. I was just taking note and commenting.
I do remember when I was in the first grade I had a pair of safety scissors that I used to cut the front of my hair. It was so short that even the clippers without a comb could not cut as short as I did. I must have pulled the skin up right to the point of the shearing interface on the scissors.
But I am very talented. Dad used to say that I could tear up an anvil with a toothpick.
It was alright that my comment was axed. Maybe I can do it better. I remember when Bonnie Lynn cut her hair so close to the skin that it took sometime for it to grow out. I think all of you at one time or another did just that, as Larry said he did.Scissors seem to be a temptation to most children, like hammers, they can cause headaches for parents.
I guess I'm rather thin skinned lately and I shouldn't be so sensitive.
I don't think I ever took scissors to anything, but Aunt Elma used to get really frustrated with me. When she gave me things, I would take them apart to see how they worked and more than once I couldn't it things back together again.
I have always used a hammer properly.
Dad used to tell about the mechanic that was consulted by a motorist about a noise under the carriage of his automobile. The mechanic grabbed a hammer and slid under the car, applied a few well aimed blows, and the noise was gone. The mechanic emerged from the bottom of the car and asked for $20. The motorist complained about the price. The mechanic explained that it is not always the ability to swing the hammer, but to know where to hit.
Betty's dad has a screwdriver that is about two feet long. He doesn't use it as a screwdriver. It's more like a stethescope to him. He puts one end to his ear and the other to a running engine. He claims that he can tell what's wrong with things by listening to them work.
I have done that too. When an engine is making a noise, sometimes it is difficult to determine just where the noise originates because it transmits through the solid parts quickly and through the air slowly. If you put something solid on the engine and move it about you can isolate the area of the noises origin.
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