Throwback Thursday - The Notebooks

To clear up some confusion, the Notebook passages posted on Throwback Thursday were written by my father and found by me after he passed away. They were his attempt to tell the family history. He was in his late 80s or early 90s when he wrote them. Today's chapter:

Charlie Arnold would time to time wonder what she [ed: Doris] saw in him. Because he didn't think he was that handsome. And his attitude was that there wasn't anyone in the world as good as Doris. He loved her all the way to the end.

Not that they didn't have their arguments. I never heard them. But I could always tell when they were on the outs. He would read his newspaper and he would say, "Oh, Doris, come see this article. It's cute or worth reading." Doris wouldn't come around and would give him the silent treatment. Translated when you are ready to come and apologize.

Even in East Boston when I worked around the house. I would babysit for them or they would ask another girl  whose name I think was "Mary" not your mother to babysit, while we would go to Lynn to a Chinese restaurant. And my introduction to Chinese food which I haven't had for many, many years. I loved it chop suey, etc. [Ed: The reason Dad never had Chinese food after he married Ma was because Ma didn't like Chinese food. When she was little some bright spark told her the food was made with cat meat and it turned her off. She wasn't happy when Charlie and Doris' kids threw a 50th anniversary party at a Chinese restaurant. Probably the same restaurant in Lynn.]

Once we were going to Lynn in his second-hand Oldsmobile. And we were going through a rainstorm. Which let a lot of water come down fast, but let up fast. I sat in the front. Doris was in the back. Suddenly he hit a section of water and it came right up to the windshield.

I commented, "Wow, it took that big puddle like a battleship!" Skip said, "Yeah. Maybe we should go back and try it again."

All this time Doris was quiet. But when he made that statement she knew it would just be like him to do it. So there was a firm voice from the back seat. "Charles." and he said, "I guess not, Joe."