My dad ran his appliance sales and repair business out
of our house so many time customers would just drop in with a
question or request but my dad was never home. That meant they would
usually talk to my mom which was useless because she preferred not to
sully herself with the details of the business. The other problem was
that my mom had a sacrosanct two hour siesta time in the early
afternoon and no one violated that time if you did not want to die.
Actually, violating nap time was the one thing we were most
consistently punished for, and it was big time trouble. One day an
old man without his dentures came looking for a part for his dryer
but without teeth he was incredibly difficult to understand. He was
also an old time cowboy so he had that drawl going on and that did
not help. When he knocked I went to the door and he asked me if my
'Dab' was 'aroumb', I told him my dad was at work and that I could
talk a message.
He told me he didn't want to “leabe any gob dab
messadge, 'cause he don't returmb dem.”
True enough sir, but I would like to get back to playing
so how can I get you off the porch? That last bit is what I was
feeling if not thinking. Then he asked me where my 'Mob' was. I told
him she was taking a nap. He was incredulous and asked 'Your mob is a
sheep?'. Sensing a magnificent setup for a touch of smart-assery I
responded to his question with a question, “Is my mom a sheep?'.
Obviously frustrated he repeated more slowly, 'is – your - mob - a
- sheep?'
I told him no she was not a sheep but she was taking a
nap. That did the trick and he went on his way. My brother and I
spent the next couple weeks asking each other if our mom was a sheep.
It is actually still a pretty good family joke and anyone of us will
know what you are asking if you want to know if our mom is a sheep.
