Mom showing Dad how high he should jump at her command. As you can see, it won't take much of an effort.

This was sort of a running joke in the family, the kind that comes wrapped up in a warning: you don't cross Mom. I'm still amazed by this. She never yelled or hit, but she was capable of freezing your heart with a look.

I remember when I told her I didn't want to play youth league football anymore. I was tired of the practices, of being bad at it. She thought otherwise. My obstinence lasted about a day in the face of her silence.