No Sex In My House

By Gib@CBO • February 18th, 2008

A response to a contest hosted by: Rob Singleton

I thought ‘virginity’ was a place north of the Carolinas

By: Gilbert Purtee

My parents never talked about sex. When I was fifteen years old, I was certain that my parents had never had sex at all. When I told my older sisters about this, they laughed but agreed that they too thought my parents had never had sex. You must understand, my father was a Baptist Preacher and I was positive that preachers did not do stuff like that (whatever ‘that’ was).Looking back on my teenage years, I am sure my mother had a written game plan to keep her only son ‘pure’. I can see her now, in her little war room (aka; “the sewing/knitting room”), plotting ways to keep girls away from her only, little boy.

The Year 1975 The Plot - Make him undesirable.

My dear mother and some woman named McCalls made all my clothing. My shirts were multi-color double-knit and complete with collars that were so wide, they looked like wings on a Boeing B-52 Bomber.
My favorite pair of pants were made of double-knit stretch material and sported the ever-so-loved 22-inch bell-bottom legs (black velvet cuff added later for a wedding).
I wear a size fifteen shoe, so I was thrilled the day we found a pair of six inch, platform shoes that fit me. They were in style because of a little known rock group called KISS.
Even then, I was 6’6” tall, so with the bell-bottoms and platform shoes, I looked like a seven-foot tall, twin engine, Saturn rocket with ‘love handles’ and acne.

I really do not think my mother plotted to make me look like a geek. It was just in style then and nobody really cared.

Let’s get serious for just a moment. I did not have questions about sex, love, marriage or relationships because I had two of the best role models ever created. No kidding.

My father treated my mother like a queen. In regards to my mother, my dad was there for her in everyway.

My dad helped her, he provided for her, he lifted her up, he never put her down, he praised her, he pet her, he brushed her hair, he listened to her, he protected her, he prayed for her, he prayed with her, he hugged her, he gave her space, he boasted about her cooking, he never complained about her, he asked her opinion, he respected her wishes, he cherished her voice, he made her laugh and he loved her with all his heart.

I was with them the day mom took her last breath. My father wiped away her tears, held her hand and whispered, “I love you.” As she went to be with Jesus, her last words were, “I love you too.”

See, they never told me about love, life and relationships. In the best way you can imagine, they showed me.

Comments(3) Invite, bigdadgib, contest, opinion, singleton

Dude Comments

This here was posted by Diane J. on February 19th, 2008 around 12:16 am

Wonderful writing, Gib. What a testimony of true love in action.

Love and hugs,

Diane

This here was posted by Suzie Eller on February 19th, 2008 around 10:18 am

Oh, painful memories of high school! : )

I didn’t have a great role model for love, and yet when I met my husband, I soon met his grandparents who had been married for 40+ years. They were still in love, and it was evident in all that they did. The day that Richard proposed, his granddad told me, “if you love Richard half as much as I love her [showing me a picture of grandmother], you’ll do okay.”

I love him as much, and I’m grateful for the example.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. : )

Suzie Eller