Breakfast With Pa

For nigh on thirty years since he and Ma had married, Pa had a breakfast table routine that never, ever varied! The menu was standard - bacon, fried eggs and gravy bread, And no one dared bother him 'til the Daily Gazette he'd read! The family bowed their heads as he offered a desultory grace, Then he grasped the paper, thence, his clan seldom saw his face, Except his eyes now and then glaring over the top of the paper, If someone talked, sneezed or perpetrated some irksome caper! From behind the paper came a cacophony of slurps and snorts, And an occasional "dag nabbit" if an article put him out of sorts! Ma was ready in an instant with more coffee - she knew the drill, When Pa, never lowering the paper, rattled his cup for another fill! Sundays were different - he hid behind the paper in his easy chair, As Ma and the kids marched to church leaving him discomfitted there! If the daily rag was not delivered or suffered some minor delay, Pa's day was ruined - he didn't have very nice things to say! The kids were excused, eyes glued to the paper he mumbled "goodbye". They left scratching their heads wondering, "Who was that guy?" Their conjecturing of who it might be was never quite complete, Since they seldom saw the elusive face behind the printed sheet! Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired © All Rights Received