The Buck Stops Here

O no! Don't say that. Please, say it ain't so! I dared to unveil to her the ways of my father, and she says to me, "You are just like him". How could she draw such a conclusion about me and my father with such limited information? Sensing insecurity, Immediately, my walls went up. Unprepared for such a sudden invasion, I quickly locked the doors of my heart until I was able to accept and receive. This conversation was supposed to be a loving introduction to my family, my parents, my siblings, and the way we grew up; and I was feeling that she had taken too much liberty to reinvent my father, making him me or me him. I was thinking, "If she had known my father, she would not be saying such things". In the early stages of our marriage, my wife taught me a lesson that I had no intention of learning nor inclination that my father's bad behavior was residing within me. No! I didn't like her finding, but it was true nonetheless. I said, "But honey, I don't cuss, drink, gamble, or threaten to shoot people. I don't treat you like my father treated my mother. No, I'm not Job, but I do have more patience than that displayed by my father". "You are just like him", she said; and for the life of me, it was hard to digest. No, the 'outward manifestations' of my father's bad behavior were not present in my life, but their 'inner workings' were as real as the light of day, and 'but for the grace of God' and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, 'there go I'. 'The Buck' of prior generations at some point must stop. In my case, 55 years ago, whether by words or by deeds, I said, "The Buck Stops Here". 10072018PoSoupContest, Any New Free Verse, Lu Loo, 3P Inspired by My Pastor's sermon, "Me And My House".