Transcription
July 5, 1955
Dear Children:
I am always encouraging you to keep a treasure chest of things that will be of interest to you and your children in years to come – letters, poems, clippings and other items that should be preserved in the family archives. The following is a good example of a choice incident that was recorded by your Granny Sei and preserved by her in her “treasure chest”. She wrote it on May 25,1896 when her three children were about 8, 6 and 4 years of age. I’m sorry that you have to find out what a “bad boy” your father was at the tender age of 4, but I hope you feel that he mended his ways and grew up to be a “good boy”.
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Frederic and Irene just came in with the tale to tell that Willard was acting “so bad” -- that nobody could do anything with him. Frederic said he never heard of such a naughty boy.
“Why,” he said,” Willard has been kicking Irene, and pulling her hair, and pinching Charles on his mumps, and pushing him out of the swing – and swearing, too.”
“Oh no, Frederic, you don’t mean that.”
“Oh yes I do, Grace heard him, and Irene too. Willard said ‘Jiminy Cristy’ and “Dod [sic] damn’ and ’Heaven’s sake’.”
I immediately sent for Willard to come. He came in as unconcerned, and I said: “What have you been doing, Willard?”
“Been playing.”
“Have you been playing nicely?”
“Yes, I been playing nicely.”
“Are you sure?”
“Well, I think I ‘member [sic] that maybe I was a litta’ [sic] naughty -- just a litta’ [sic].”
“Perhaps you better think again.”
“Yes, I seem to ‘member [sic] that I was just a litta’ [sic] naughty -- just a litta’ [sic], not very naughty like burglars and such bad people who steal spoons and silver cups, and naughty like that. Oh no, I just pushed Charles a lit-ta [sic] bit and he fell out of the swing.”
Just then the telephone rang and before I had turned around Willard was already out of the house and out of sight and sound.
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I hope this little gem will encourage you to write down certain things your children say and do that should be preserved in your family archives.
Affectionately,
The “Bad Boy”Transcriber
Cindi RokeLanguage
English