“Juanita, why don’t you do the dishes so you can go play with your friends?” Alice asked this question a couple of times as her daughter pranced around the kitchen, humming to herself. She always carried her soundtrack in her head, and as she had just seen a movie with Eleanor Powell, one of her favorites, the song “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” was running through her head.
Again her mother asked, “Juanita, why don’t you do the dishes so you can go play with your friends?” Unfortunately, at that moment Juanita, my Mom, unconsciously vocalized the lyrics “Don’t you know little fool you never can win…” at which point her mom hauled off to hit her; she ducked and ran through the house.
Bursting through the screen door, she fell down the front steps. She got back up and, sheepishly, in view of astonished neighbors, went to the back door where Nana, trying not to laugh, said, “See? I didn’t have to hit you!”
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