My Daddy Stands Up

One of the only things I remember about my daddy was back in the 1930's before he was sent off to war. Every summer we had this thing at church called Vacation Bible School and one of the events we practiced each morning was pledging allegiance to the American flag, Christian flag, and the Bible. Three youngsters were picked each day to walk in with the flags, stand in front of the group, and lead us in the pledges. The kids who were chosen were always the children or grandchildren of deacons or prominent church members. One of my closest friends was Bobby Dalfount. His daddy was a known alcoholic and had never entered the church as far as we knew. Bobby was never chosen even though he always attended every service. His mother saw to that. I told my daddy I felt bad about my friend being left out and daddy sprung into action. At the next Wednesday prayer meeting he addressed the congregation and spoke out in the defense of all children whose parents might not be up to the standards of the pious church members. He must have been effective because the next morning Bobby was asked to participate. Word got back to Bobby's father and he started coming to church. His battle with alcohol was a long, exhausting journey and I am not sure he ever completely recovered from his illness, but I do know people at the church began to look at him through different eyes. My conclusion about my daddy's little speech was that it helped Bobby's daddy a lot, but not nearly as much as it helped those in the church who felt so superior.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle