A man of few words!

I love the show NCIS! Gibbs, the main character is referred to as a "functional mute." It isn't because he can't talk, it is because he really doesn't have to.  He can get his point across very well, with just a look, or a slap to the back of the head, or just by using silence to let someone else figure out their mistake or next step. He gives not only discipline, but approval and humor in the same manner.

Daddy was a lot like that.  He didn't need a lot of words to get his point across.  There was the time that both of my nephews had the chicken pox while they were staying with us. He decided to have a little fun with them, so the first night, he put feathers all around them while they were sleeping. They woke up and wondered what was happening, and he told them that when you have chicken pox you turn into a chicken.  The next night, he put feathers in their pajamas, and in their hair.  By then they were paranoid!!! He would just look at them and smile! The last night was the best, he put hard boiled eggs beside them while they slept and when they woke up, they knew they were finally chickens!  He never said a word!

Another time, I was constantly getting scolded about not cleaning the dishes before I put them in the dishwasher. I guess he had finally had enough because he said, "The next time you do that, you are gonna find those dishes in your bed."  So, sure enough, I came home one night, and what was in my bed, but a dishwasher full of semi-clean dishes! Mortified, I slept with them in my bed and put them up the next morning. Never realizing I was supposed to clean them first! But I never did that again!

Painting the picnic table was the same way.  He was gently showing me my mistakes and I was pouting, then I accidentally knocked the can of red paint over on his new shoes.  He didn't clean all of the paint off, he left just enough to remind me not to get huffy!

Love and compassion were shown the same way.  A wink, a quick hug, a note, or a tear.  His silence spoke more than most of the words I will ever remember.

He didn't need a lot of words to show love, or firmness, or humor.  It was all in the face of a fine man.  St. Francis of Assisi said, "Preach the Gospel and if necessary, use words." Maybe he was a "functional mute" too!