{"id":454,"date":"2016-08-10T21:26:36","date_gmt":"2016-08-11T01:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/?p=454"},"modified":"2016-08-10T21:26:36","modified_gmt":"2016-08-11T01:26:36","slug":"daddy-goes-fishing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/?p=454","title":{"rendered":"DADDY GOES FISHING"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a0My latest book, HALLEY, awarded 2015 Jefferson Cup Honor for Historical Fiction, awarded the Moonbeam Silver Medal for Young Adult Fiction,\u00a0 and awarded the 2016 Frank Yerby Award for Fiction.\u00a0 Available at: NewSouth Books:\u00a0www.newsouthbooks.com\/halley and Amazon<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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As a young man, my late father-in-law never had much opportunity to kick up his heels.\u00a0 He went from farm life to working his way through college to marriage and teaching, and then to fatherhood.\u00a0 When his first child (who became my husband) was only a few months old, the coach at Daddy\u2019s school suggested they go on a weekend fishing trip, and Daddy decided to do it.\u00a0 Mama Gibbons probably wasn\u2019t too happy about the plan, from the get-go, since weekends were her best chance to get out of the house.\u00a0 With her husband gone in the car, Mama was stuck at home.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The coach probably fished all the time.\u00a0 When Daddy picked him up he had rods, bait, picnic food, and a big cooler filled with beer.\u00a0 It\u2019s very likely that Daddy had never tasted beer and he probably didn\u2019t plan to drink any of it, but once they got to the river and the day warmed up, he gave in to temptation.\u00a0 By Sunday morning, he was probably giving in more readily and more often.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, back at home, Mama had problems.\u00a0 She was still nursing the baby, but since her milk supply was undependable, she supplemented with bottles of formula as needed.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the formula ran out on Saturday.\u00a0 Daddy hadn\u2019t been real definite about when he\u2019d be home, but\u00a0 Mama was counting on Saturday afternoon. He didn\u2019t make it.\u00a0 By bedtime the baby was wailing loud enough to rouse the neighbors, if not the dead,\u00a0 and Mama was beside herself with frustration.\u00a0 Before morning, she was angry.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Late Sunday afternoon Daddy drove up, rumpled and smelling of beer and already suffering the misery of a hangover.\u00a0 His troubles were only beginning.\u00a0 His infant son was screaming with hunger and his angry wife was asking what on earth was he thinking, leaving her at home with a baby that had been crying for 48 of the last 24 hours?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daddy could only sit at the kitchen table with his head cradled in his hands.\u00a0 This was in the 1940s\u2014stores and pharmacies were closed on Sundays.\u00a0 The baby kept crying and the wife kept fussing.\u00a0 Mama finally realized she could drive the car and borrow some formula from a friend with a baby.\u00a0 Daddy was too sick to make the errand, but he probably had time to revisit the wisdom of his decision as the baby screamed louder and louder.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The next morning was a school day, but Daddy was still suffering from headache and nausea.\u00a0 He dressed to go to work, but simply could\u2019t make it.\u00a0 Mama had to use a neighbor\u2019s phone to call the school and put him on sick leave.\u00a0 It was Ben Gibbons\u2019 first time ever to use sick leave, and it alarmed the entire school.\u00a0 An hour later, Daddy was drinking his fourth cup of coffee when a car screeched to a stop in the yard.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s your principal!\u201d Mama whispered.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daddy leaped up and ran to their bedroom.\u00a0 With no time to undress, he jumped into bed and pulled the cover up to his chin.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cCould I take you to the doctor?\u201d asked his boss as he entered the room.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Daddy replied.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll be okay tomorrow.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t mind a bit,\u201d the principal insisted.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you just the same,\u201d Daddy said, \u201cIt\u2019s just something I ate.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be fine tomorrow.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

When the principal was gone and Daddy was back at the table, drinking coffee, he said, \u201cWell, I figure things this way\u2014I can either work or I can drink.\u00a0 I think I\u2019ll work.\u201d\u00a0 It was the last fishing trip for Daddy for years.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And the next time he didn\u2019t take beer.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u00a0My latest book, HALLEY, awarded 2015 Jefferson Cup Honor for Historical Fiction, awarded the Moonbeam Silver Medal for Young Adult Fiction,\u00a0 and awarded the 2016 Frank Yerby Award for Fiction.\u00a0 Available at: NewSouth Books:\u00a0www.newsouthbooks.com\/halley and Amazon As a young man, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=454"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":458,"href":"http:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454\/revisions\/458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}