Another cool unflappable dad story, with lesson involved. When I was 15, I got drunk for the first time on Jack Daniels. I had stayed out really late (for me); it was past 0-dark-thirty and way past when I was supposed to be home. We had an early bed time family, everyone was asleep by ten. So when I got home (not knowing what time it was), I knew I was late, coz all the lights were off. Thinking in my adolescent drunk mind that I had caught a break, I presumed to carefully unlock the front door, creep in, and sneak under my covers, with my folks none the wiser. WRONG!
I turned around after painstakingly closing the door, and OH CRAP, there were my parents, who then turned on the light. Right away my father knew what was up with me, and after allowing my mom to wail about where had they gone wrong and what-not, took control of the situation by telling her that there is no use talking to me now, and sent me to bed explaining in his stern no-nonsense manner that we would be having a talk tomorrow. That was fine with me.
Stopping in the bathroom to splash water on my face and laugh at myself in the mirror making funny drunk faces, my mother continued wailing and laying in to me. Finally, with courage and idiocy that can only be garnered from a bottle, I shouted,"shut up, b**ch"(I know, pretty crappy huh). The world then stopped for the next few seconds, as silence permeated the entire house. The next thing I hear is my father's heavy footsteps coming down the hall. He opened the door, with no visible change of expression on his face, and said, "If you're gonna drink like a man, and talk like a man, you're gonna get punished like a man". That was the last thing I remember before waking up in the tub, with a grotesquely fattened lip.
Two lessons learned. One, don't disrespect your mother. That may sound obvious, but up to that point the worst thing I had ever done was sassed her a few times, I had never talked to her like a common street person. NUmber two, and the most important thing I learned about being a father, is that she is not just my mother, she is my father's wife. Your kids will grow up and leave, but your spouse is forever. As such, you must always be united, and my father taught me to defend all assaults against her, including those from my children, who I love deeply.
My pops is a great man, and I am a very fortunate son.
Great story! My dad was the same way in terms of controlling his emotions. I only saw him cry one time, and that was the night my brother was murdered at the age of 16. Even then, he only cried once when he and I were talking alone, never at the funeral or when my mom was around. He did have tears in his eyes when I got my first real job after he helped rescue me from a bad situation. I have hope for the human race that our traditions will not be usurped by those who would try to make men into girls.