Trying To Walk In Beauty

On occasion, my father would stop by for visits. He would eat with us before he headed back to his own house a few miles away. My cousins, my lil’ sister and I were quite curious about him. One time, just as we were about to have supper, we saw him put the gum that he was chewing in the back of one of his ear. I guess to save it for later. We watched him eat his food and after he was done, he took the gum from behind his ear and put it back in his mouth to continue chewing. This intrigued our young minds. And just like every kid who wants to imitate her father, I decided to try this at one point so the next time I got a hold of a piece of gum, I stuck a glob of gum behind one of the lobes of my ear and ate my food. By the time I was done eating, I reached behind my ear to get my gum so I could continue chewing only to find it stuck to my hair. It was a big gooey mess! I remember my mother getting after me for pulling such a ridiculous stunt. She ended having to crop my hair around my ear to get the gum out. And I was only trying to be like my father.