Sharon (my best 4th grade friend) Evy, Jay, Davy, Me: Jefferson Manor, Alexandria, VA 1954
When my dad was a little boy he received a small red wagon as a gift. The other boys in the neighborhood began playing with his wagon. He stood there and watched. The next day he realized that he was angry about that. He said, "I relents that."
When my mom was small she received a ball as a gift. Her sister, Evelyn, and their friend, took it away from her, and played with it. She grew very angry. She got the ball away from the girls and took it home.
It is possible that my sister, brothers, and I took after our dad. As you can see we didn't mind sharing a very small swimming pool. Maybe we were not only slow to anger, but we were just slow!
Proverbs 15:18 A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.
This story from Davy illustrates how patient our dad was: That place on Jefferson Manor also caused our dad a concern for a time. That was the place with the red bricks outside. I think the bedroom window was open just a little. The dripping from the rain hit the brick just outside the window and caused microsplatters that hit his face. He would get up in the morning and look in the mirror. He looked to see if any blood vessels in his face were breaking or if something else caused that strange feeling of moist sensations. It was almost a year of concern by the time he figured it out - by then we were leaving for the trailer. He worried that it might be breaking blood vessels in his face or a stroke causing the sensations. The imagination can run wild until the answer finally floats to the top.
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