The Ordinary

 

Mom and Dad never made history.

They had three children which in-

cluded me. Not even that afforded

them any notoriety.

They were ordinary folks as people

go, run of the mill for the time. Dad

had his ordinary job, eight to five.

Mom tried her best tending to her

ordinary domestic things. She did

what she could do to make a house

a home.

As children we learned ordinary

things from them, bathing once

a week, brushing our teeth before

bed, wearing the proper attire to

play, to church and school.

We learned to behave in the pre-

sense of adults. It was ordinary to

be seen and not heard, to chew

with our mouth closed, ordinary

to pray before dinner, to say please

and thank you for everything we

received.

We were an ordinary family, nothing

special in those ordinary times, free

for the most part from mayhem, atom

bombs, polio and crime.

Mom and Dad argued a lot about

money, drinking, what needed doing

and what should not be done. I figured

most ordinary families behaved in the

same way.

Growing up, I never personally

knew anyone who was famous. At

a carnival once I met Texas Bruce who

had a daily show for kids on local TV.

He never seemed ordinary to me.

He was bigger in real life, much bigger

than I and my ordinary family could ever

hope to be. When he died, at first I was

surprised. But eventually, I learn that

even famous people must also abide

to that ordinary sort of thing.

To this day, and in my old age, some-

times I am still taken aback, however,

and I hate when the ordinary happens.

                 -30-

Chris Hanch 5-27-2021