Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Tuesday, October 2, 2018

That Smile

Dad was story-telling.
Surely the best of times . . .
College Boy.
Christmas, 1946. The newly-minted college boy was back from school in Guelph, Ontario for his first Christmas break.
His home town of Lethbridge, Alberta, was in a justifiably holiday mood.
Parties.
Get-togethers.
Dances.
A gathering had been organized at the new church hall.
College boy decided it would be fun to go.
Standing at the edge of the dance floor, he began to wonder if going had been a mistake. None of the people he knew were there.
Oh, there were plenty of girls.
Beautiful girls. Most of them, the younger sisters of his friends who had, surprisingly, sprouted during his absence.
He just didn’t recognize any of them.
Standing there, uncertainly, he was approached by the mother of one of said friends. “Mark!” she said. “Go and dance with my daughter!”
“All right,” he said, smiling. “Happy to!”
She moved off and Dad turned back to the large group in front of him.
Now I should point out here, that this girl was well-known to my dad. He just hadn’t seen her for a while and in his absence, she had grown up.
The nerve of her.
He studied the faces of the girls on the dance floor and milling the hall. They smiled back at him encouragingly, but recognition was no closer.
Hmm.
Finally, not wanting to embarrass himself by approaching the girl’s mother, he wandered over to a group of boys and asked them. The girl was immediately pointed out.
Dad dutifully walked over to her and asked her to dance.
Whew! Mission accomplished.
She was a pretty girl.
Fun.
Vivacious.
Dad enjoyed dancing with her.
Feeling just a bit proud of his success, he moved with her around the floor. Then he spotted the girl’s mother in the crowd.
With a large, satisfied smile on her face as she watched the two of them.
A ‘hundred-watt’ smile.
Now, as a mother myself, I can understand that smile. Her daughter was dancing with a nice, handsome young man from a solid family, who was studying to be a doctor.
A rosy future looked tantalizingly close.
And distinctly possible.
I've used it myself. Most of the time, I'm sad to admit, it’s a relationship killer.
Sigh.
This particular relationship wasn't meant to be.
Though they enjoyed the evening, the two of them never really hit it off.
Soon Dad was back at school and once more hard at work.
The young girl went back to her life.
Dad doesn't remember much about her.
She was pretty. Fun. Sweet.
And her mother had that smile.
See what I mean?

16 comments:

  1. We all want our children to be happy and children "sometimes" want to make their parents happy. It doesn't always work.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ahhh, that smile. As the mother of boys I know it well (and have tried to hide it a time or two).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let me know how that goes. I'm afraid I used it often. Now I'm trying it out on the next generation! :)

      Delete
  3. Oh dear! Mothers need to learn to MTOB (mind their own business) in some areas of life . . . of course, things were different in years gone by. Parents worried if their girls weren't settled down at a relatively early age. I have seen this smile and worse, and cringed for the offspring, and can honestly say I have not given it :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're a better person than me, Jenny! I'm pretty sure it cropped up often. Sigh.

      Delete
  4. Such a sweet tale. Your dad was meant for your mom! Would love to hear that story.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That smile is definitely a relationship killer. It made me run several miles several times.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're obviously much more clever than me! I never clued in. Or maybe it was just never pointed at me. Hmmmmmm....that's a whole other thought! ðŸĪŠ

      Delete
  6. Yep..sirens and flashing red lights...hazmat suits on....those smiles are dangerous.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just stay on the giving side of the smile. Then you're fine! 😊

      Delete
  7. My mother wore THAT smile every time I even said hello to a random friend passing by. I never dared mention any of the males I worked with at the factory. She was so desperate to see me married off.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My family actually moved ranches to get rid of me! And then my mom perfected that smile! 😁

      Delete
    2. Dad even locked the door to get rid of Diane (she has told that story a few times)

      Delete

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