A Family Tradition

By

John P Gibson

 

 

Richard flung his small skinny legs over the seat of the swing his father was holding for him. Richard had seen his older sisters being pushed back and forth by his father. It looked like so much fun. It was now his turn. Richard had just turned three years old. His father Alan, who was in his early thirties, had an athletic build. He worked in the meat packing plants in town.

Richard Phiser was a precocious little boy who had just last week crapped his last diaper. His Mother. Julie was the same age as his father Alan. She was a stay at home mom who had her work cut out for her.

Richard's two sisters Bonnie and Becky just happened to be the same age and looked very much alike. His mother had told him they were born identical twins. What ever that meant. All he knew was they were monsters from another planet and any chance he could get he would do his best to rid this planet of them. They were five years old.

Gordon was the family dog. A medium sized Bull Mastiff the size of a small elephant that someone must have left the garden hose inside him on as he was always leaking gooey water from the corners of his mouth. Gordon always had the ability to get in the way whenever Richard was about to have fun. Gordon was 14 in dog years. One year younger than Richard.

“OK Richard. Now when I get you seated on the swing I want you to hold onto the chain here in both hands. OK Richard?”

Richard heard his father just fine. His comprehension was that of a seven year old for crying out loud. He just had a hard time speaking. He had only just turned three. Richard nodded his head as he perched himself up high on the swing seat anticipating the push from his father to set in motion the wonderful back and forth trapeze like affect. As he calculated his balance and the trajectory of the swing, Richard's sisters came running up holding hands and obviously having a barrage of questions for their father. They always held hands and Julie always dressed them identical. It was most confusing for Richard as his eyes had to continually adjust.

 

“Now you hold on tight Richard. I'm going to give you a small push first to see if you like it. OK?”

Richard looks up at him and nods. He might have looked scared to anyone watching, but he was in complete control.

“Daddy, daddy. Can we swing too?”

Both girls say at the same time, Just one more thing to confuse Richard as he adjusts himself in his seat.

“Not right now girls. It's Richard’s turn. His first time on the swing and we want him to have fun. So just stand back and watch. Ready Richard?”

Richard looks straight ahead and grits his gums, as his teeth had not completely started to come in. He was determined to master this sport. His father gently pulls Richard back. He feels the gravity try to pull him back to where he was. He hangs on tighter.

“Hang on tight Richard.”

His father says just to make sure Richard is on the same page as he is. He lets go of the swing and everyone could hear two loud screams as Richard bullets forward with his twin sisters in tow. They had decided to ignore their father’s obvious request and each to grab one of the chains either side of the swing. Richard was on his way; he would not let go for any reason. Either would his sisters, and then he dragged them along as he reached the apex of the journey. Richard heard a loud thud along with more screams as his sisters had let go simultaneously. They both stood up just as the swing had now started its return trip back. Richard could see nothing as his rear now slammed into the two of them knocking them down to the ground for a second time.

Alan now leaped in to stop the mayhem and stop the swing. The girls had again gotten themselves standing just in time for Gordon to come leaping to the rescue and again dropping the two girls to the ground. As Richard watched from his perch after the swing had slowed, he had a feeling of great contentment. After all, it was his lot in life to pester and nag his sisters the best that he could. This little episode wasn't even his fault. Technically speaking.

If horns could have grown from Richard’s forehead that day it would have been no surprise to any who knew the Phiser family. Richard’s sisters had taught him well. Even at the young age of three he was a terror.

“Lunch time everyone. KD. It's your favourite.”

Julie always made Kraft Dinner for lunch. Sometimes even for dinner if the kids had been good all day. Richard thought perhaps maybe today had been a good day. After all, he had managed to knock his sisters over, at least with the help of his father. After getting the girls cleaned up and Richard seated on his booster seat at the small kitchen table. His mother started to dish up the gooey KD into the colourful kids bowls and a large plate for Alan. It would have been an obvious oversight in any other home, the taking off of headgear at any meal where the family gathered. Not here in the Phiser home. Not that they were of lesser intelligence, or had not an inkling of the proper etiquette when dining. It was just that they had always worn a cap, hat, or head accoutrement. Doing most anything. The Phisers did not do social functions of any kind. Except of course the Carnival. They hardly knew their neighbours and other than the five of them. There were no other family.

The KD went down great along with the large Coke. Most of Richard’s food ended up on the floor or nestled neatly on the tops of hats the girls wore. Gordon who always made the area under the table his domain during meals anticipated the loss of food, especially from Richard. Most would end up on the floor beneath him where Gordon could quickly lap it up and leave a very large swath of gooey saliva in his trail.

“What do you kids want to do after lunch?”

Julie said in between mouthfuls of KD. The girls were the first to speak up, again, almost in unison.

“Can we go to the Carnival mommy?”

The Carnival was a fairly large venue just outside of town where most of the children and parents would gather on a weekend to satisfy the children’s craving for entertainment. The owners of this fun and games facility had decided long ago that this town, (even though they only opened on weekends) was more profitable than any other. Most of the business was from other towns and counties.

Diablo was a small town close to the border with The USA, and Mexico. It had been in the past a farming community. It was now the meat-packing centre for the entire country. Row upon row of large metal windowless buildings carpeted nearly the entire town. Except for some quickly built subdivisions. Diablo was turned into an industrial site never before seen.

The Chinese had invested in a big way. Alan's immediate boss was Chinese along with many of the other workers also being Chinese. Alan had been chosen to work at the plant because of his expertise. There were few of his calibre in the industry, and most were working under him. 'Salvo Industries' kept a tight lid on their operations and Alan was one that often was in control of recruiting.

“Get your faces cleaned and put on some shoes you children. We leave in ten minutes for the Carnival.”

Alan says as he collects the bowls and plates from the table and takes them to the wash sink where Julie is cleaning.

“Can we go through the scary house Dad?”

The girls again speak in unison.

“Of course we can. If Richard is a good boy, he can come with us.”

Richard of course just looked up and smiled with a piece of KD hanging from the corner of his mouth. He had seen the girls go through the House of Horrors with their dad as his mom held him tight on the side.

It was obvious they thought him old enough now to see the scary stuff. Richard had no problem with the scary stuff. None of his family did. Not like some of the kids that he saw at the Carnival. Even some of the adults you could hear screaming as they worked their way through the House of Horrors.

“C'mon you guys lets get a move on. You know your father has to be at the Carnival to help out. Snap to it.”

Julie quips as she gets the three youngsters ready for the short car ride to the grounds. Alan had to help at the Carnival as part of his contractual agreement with the Chinese bosses at Salvo.

 

His bosses liked to think of Alan as their best recruitment agent. Alan also tended to agree with them. His training had been extensive through the years and he had a keen eye for just the right candidates for initiation into the large conglomerate.

“You kids ready? Daddy's got the station wagon ready and warmed up. Girls you in the back with Richard in his special chair.”

Julie always called it his special chair, one where he could look out the windscreen at the traffic roaring by. It was never called a child seat.

“Everybody buckled in?”

Alan said as he turned around to navigate out from the driveway.

“Becky...your hat isn't on properly. Straighten it out will you sweetie?”

He said as he continued in reverse down the short driveway. Everyone in the family was wearing their headgear. Alan had on a baseball cap. Red. Richard a smaller one to match with a chinstrap to make sure his stayed in place. The twins had of course matching summer hats with flowers all over the rim. Julie had the most flamboyant of them all, a real large summer hat with a red ribbon around the top. Becky straightened her hat on her head as Alan put the car in drive and went methodically along the subdivision roadway towards the edge of town where the Carnival was just starting to open up its attractions.

“When we get to the Carnival grounds I want you all to stay together and close to mommy and me. Understood Richard? Girls?”

Alan says as everyone spots the large gateway into the grounds just off in the distance. It was a large acreage that had that permanency about it. It used to be grazing fields for cows in the days when they actually roamed around outside. The large archway where people entered looked Chinese with ornate carvings of gold and red. The house of horrors was positioned near to the back of the large park. Close to one of the metal buildings of the meat processing plant. Alan would always make his way with the family directly to this spot.

“OK kids, here is the plan, same as always. You can all do one trip through the House of Horrors with your mother, then after you can roam about the carnival with her. Sound good?”

Alan says as he and family approach the entrance to the attraction that drew the largest crowd. People just loved being scared to death.

 

 

It was Alan’s job to open the gate to let people enter. He would tag them with a colourful plastic wristband to let the other staff know which car to place them in. The system was a series of tracks that small open cars travelled along while the customers watched the scary goings on to either side of them. At one point there was a junction where the railway split. Cars with people with a Blue band would go one way, and people with the red band would go the other. There was another worker standing dressed as a devil with a long red tail and two red horns protruding from either side of his large forehead. He would pull a large lever similar to the one Alan used at the start of the ride. Pushed in one of the two directions would divert the selected car along the chosen track.

One direction was touted as being scarier than the other. The twins and Richard and their Mom knew different. It was equally as scary. Just in a different way. Alan took his place at the small podium at the front of the line. There was already a large gathering of people wanting to have themselves scared. It was the most popular attraction at the Carnival. Alan led his family in to where the first car awaited. Julie would hang on to Richard, as he was just too small to see over the rim of the plastic car. He dreamt about going through this House of Horrors many times.

“All buckled in?”

Alan said to Julie. Not that there were any belts to buckle one in anyway. Julie just nodded. The children looked up at him and smiled enthusiastically. He then pulled back on a long plastic lever that engaged the pull chain beneath and between the rails to pull the car along and into the dark opening of the ride. It almost never failed. The first car into the dark tunnel opening produced no less than one scream from the six people the car could carry, even if they had been all men. It did not take too long. About twenty minutes and Alan's family emerged not too far from where they had entered, a similar opening to that of the entrance.

The girls had on their familiar expression as that of Richard. His was considerably more animated as he squirmed in his mothers lap. His smile however registered his extreme contentment. After exiting the car The Phiser family walked by Alan waving and then making their way to other booths, rides, and fun. They would meet for a snack later. The crowds increased in size. Not unusual. Thousands came from miles around. With the human population on the planet nearing fifteen billion it was not hard to get a crowd gathered anywhere. Two PM and it was time for Alan to swap with his co-worker at the fork in the tracks. There was a momentary shut down as the two passed in the tunnel, the one man tucking his tail into his pants and placing a cap on his head to hide his horns.

“Hey Paul...how's the action going at the split?”

“Great Alan. Bigger numbers today. You must be doing a great job.”

“Thanks Paul. You'll keep up the good work for me right?”

Alan says as he walks past Paul and situates himself at the junction in the tracks. He removes his cap and his horns are somewhat larger than Paul's. His tail is even longer. He removes his shirt to reveal a massive red skinned torso. He truly looked devilish as he handled the large lever. The day moved on into evening and Alan was back at the helm of the ride again. He was looking for those people that were special. The ones that would benefit the ride and appreciate the change of course held special for them.

“Daddy...daddy...we just had a big fluffy candy and Richard had a big bowl of KD...again!”

Becky almost screams out to her father. He is just in the process of closing the ride for the night. There will be another day tomorrow with plenty of riders going into the House of Horrors.

“That's wonderful sweetie. Hi dear...did the children behave?”

“They were just like their father. Little devils.”

Julie says letting out a series of uncontrolled laughs. Alan just smiles back. Before he can take his family back home he must first check on some of the meat packing facilities, another of his requirements as a top employee of the company.

“Anyone want to see the plant with me?”

Alan says with a tone of excitement in his voice just for Richard. Richard can hardly contain himself. The girls also looked wide-eyed and enthusiastic.

“Sounds like a fun idea. We always like to see your finished work. Right girls?” Bonnie and Becky look at their mother and nod in agreement. Richard is starting to jump up and down he is so excited. Alan motions for all of them to follow him to a side door on the back of one of the large metal buildings. The door was a dark red colour and was made of metal. On the outside handle was a large metal chain with a very big padlock securing the chain in place.

“OK now, everyone knows the routine. Just follow me in and stay close to me. There is no one else here now, the workers have all gone home today so we can take our time.”

Alan ushers his family into the dimly lit room on the other side of the red metal door. After Julie comes in holding Richard and leads Becky and Bonnie in, he closes the door behind them.

“Now, off to your left is where it all starts. You girls should pay attention. One day you could be working here. This is where the meat arrives after it has been cut into its larger sections. See them there hanging off the large hooks Richard?”

Alan points to what looks like a large leg section just hanging there.

“During the week this is moving all of the meat sections along and to the next station.”

The girls look on in amazement as they continue to walk further into the building. Richard points in a direction and Julie looks at him and then where it is he is pointing. There, off to the right is a large bin. In it is pieces of meat and appendages that have been discarded.

“Those are parts that we don't use Richard. They will be ground up and used for dog and cat food. Some of Gordon’s favourite.”

Richard's eyes light up at hearing his dog’s name. Alan notices the girls fidgeting and trying to take off their small jackets. It was warm inside and Alan stopped at a row of tables.

“OK girls I know it's warm in here. Lets take off our jackets and hats and put them here on the table for when we return.”

After putting the objects onto the table Alan ushered them on to the next station. Just at that point in a large bin off to one side a scraping and clattering noise surprised everyone. As they all turned to look at what was making the noise Richard yells out at the top of his lungs.

“Ball for Gordon.... ball for Gordon Daddy.”

Everyone looks at the roundish object fall from the over filled bin. It was the head of a human rolling along the floor and in the direction of the Phiser family. Next to fall out was a small section of a human arm with a bright red plastic bracelet still attached to the wrist.

“No Richard, I'm afraid we can't take it home for Gordon. He would certainly enjoy it though. OK everyone lets get a move on.”

Alan commands as he looks at his family of little devils with their little red horns and tails whipping about as they walked the floors of the Chinese meat packing facility. Alan thought about the corporate motto and his Chinese bosses, the ones who packed and shipped the processed meat around the world to unsuspecting customers. He did his job well. He was proud of what he had accomplished. The motto the company had adopted as their mantra.

“Waste not want not. 2.5 billion processed and counting.” Salvo Industries.

 

 

The End