As we traverse this experience we call life, there are situations that can bring out, what we may call our alter ego.   A person can be easy going, generous and very nice to all around.  But what happens if something or someone invades our space without permission or thought.   Here is, as Paul Harvey would say, “The rest of the story!”. 

Leann Denning, mother, grandma, is the most easy going person around.  She is a friend to all and very caring about those around her.  I have rarely seen her lose her temper and even more rarely heard swear words come from her mouth.  Which is ironic, because my father never lacked for the pronouncing of those words.

This is the story of one of those times where we, as her children, learned that our mother has an alter self.  She does have a temper and she can pronounce those words we were told not to use.

It happened back in the late 1960s that our family and a neighbor family, the Youngs, went boating to Palisades Reservoir.  Two boats, two families and a day of fun.  We had put the boats in, motored out and found two docks that had been partially beached.  This was ideal for our day of fun.  The boats could be tied up on the water side of the docks and the kids could then get off the other side and play on the beach.

We unloaded the coolers and had the dock organized and ready for the day.  The towels were laid out for us kids to use after swimming or skiing.

Then it happened.  Another boat load of people, unknown to any of us, decided to also use these same two docks.  They docked their boat and started unloading stuff, kids and their little dog.  My mother stood there in unbelief as to the audacity of these people deciding to take over an already occupied dock.  Then, to add insult to injury, the dog ran off the dock into the mud and water and then back onto the dock over our towels.  That cause the alter Leann to appear.  My mother walked onto the dock and said, “Get that damn dog off this dock” and kicked the dog into the water.  We all stood there in shock, not ever having seen our mother this upset.  Had it been our father, that we would have understood, but our mother.  Wow!!!

The people pulled their dog out of the water, loaded their stuff back into their boat and left.  I cannot remember if anything else was said at the time, but what was said, I believe, was enough.  It is somewhat like those prophets of old when standing up for the right, except for maybe the language.

My mother is a very kind and loving person, but don’t get her towels dirty.