Originally Posted by
Lori Ann Westlake
Good story, Cassie. I remember when I was around 20 or so there was a family across the road with a little boy about five years old named Richard. I remarked to his mother once that Richard didn't seem as... I forget what words I used, but Richard was nowhere near as "tough" as his slightly older brother. More delicate, more sensitive. His mother was a nice, friendly woman with red hair. She had an unusual name: "Pirosca." People called her "Pirie." Anyway she said very kindly, "yes, Richard isn't a 'boyish' boy like some." She was very protective of him. Definitely a good mother.
Oddly enough, he wasn't the only "feminine" Richard I've known. The other one was unmistakably transsexual. I've no idea how this little boy ended up, though fortunately he had every chance of being well adjusted. He might have been just "delicate." But then they were a nice family altogether, Pirie and her husband and their three kids--a sister as well, with red hair like her mother.
Fathers know it's a tough world, and most of them want their sons to be "a chip off the old block" who are tough enough to survive and prosper. I remember a couple of disparaging comments from my own father that were probably prompted by my "feminine" side. But literally only two; nothing to complain about. I was lucky; he was a good guy. I'm sorry your own father was such an abusive jerk. I imagine his abuse of you was not the only reason your mother kicked him out. In fact your mother did a father's job as well by teaching you to stand up for yourself. Good for her!
