When Tim and I were young kids, we were constantly inundated by adults who used profanity. Our mother, father, Uncle Ned, family friends, other men at the bars we hung out in with our father or Uncle Ned all did that. Another source of hearing "dirty words" and swearing was at the gas stations we hung around. Occasionally our Grandmother Ollie would say words that would make a muleskinner blush! It’s amazing that during my whole life I have rarely if ever used profanity.  I always thought it was so ironic that as a young kid I would be yelled at for using the same words I heard all the adults use! In those days if you were caught using “dirty words” you got your mouth washed out with soap. My mother said that would “wash the dirty words out of my mouth”.  Well, at least she explained the rationale to me, which never worked anyway. A "clean mouth" never stopped me. This same action was also used if we "talked back" to her or our father. I got my mouth washed out with soap so much (mainly for "talking back"); that I no doubt had such a clean mouth that any surgeon could have performed surgery it! Although how he and his patient would fit into my mouth is uncertain. On the other hand, they all probably could since people have always told me that I have a big mouth. The worst soap to get my mouth "washed out" with was Lifebuoy soap, which tasted AWFUL!!!) That was the standard consequence back in the 1950's for saying "4 letter words". Now days, I doubt any parent would dare do that now. No doubt, they just let the kid "express himself" so as not to injure his "self esteem".  I’m surprised that to this day that I don’t eat soap sandwiches or eat soup made from Ivory Snow. This is not because I say "dirty words" or swear, but I had gotten so used to the taste while a kid. I guess there was an unwritten rule that you had to wait until you were 21 before you could drink and use dirty words or do almost ANYTHING that was fun that you weren’t allowed to do as a kid. I guess if I had wanted to use extreme profanity and say “dirty words” that I should of planned on becoming a mule skinner (BUT ONLY AFTER I WAS 21). I've never understood the old saying, "cuss like a muleskinner". I never understood why a muleskinner would swear any worse than most other men would. I've never met a muleskinner, so that may very well be true. Speaking of waiting until I'm 21, even as a kid I always wanted a motorcycle and since my mother absolutely hated them (as most mothers do) she always said, “If you want a motorcycle you’ll have to wait till you’re 21 then you can get one!” Well, needless to say, when I was 21 I did get one! I’ve had 4 of them off and on since my post 21 years.  However, since turning 21 and even before, I haven't used "dirty words" or profanity since that would be diametrically opposed to my Christian moral principles. In addition, I still don't like the taste of soap. I have never felt the need to swear. I have always been convinced that other people use "dirty words" and profanity in their speech in order to feel important and powerful in front of their peers as a result of feeling inferior.  Since I have always been my own person, I have never seen the need to "feel important" or "powerful" since I'm neither one, and swearing in front of other people will not make me someone I'm not. About the only "4 letter word" I ever use when I get "bent out of shape" is the innocuous "RATS"!  HMMMM, this is beginning to sound like an editorial instead of a story. I beg your pardon, now back to the story…

 

Since we weren’t allowed to use dirty words as young kids, Tim and I had our own set of “dirty words”. At bedtime, after the lights were out we’d softly say to each other, “Snot, booger, mucous”, then followed a time of hardy laughter and snickering. That was our own secret version of using “dirty” words. Our parents probably never heard the “dirty” words we were using. They just yelled at us to go to sleep and quit all the Tom foolery (whatever that is). They should have yelled, "Cut out the Tim and Mike foolery"! We would have KNOWN what that meant! Later on, while on the school bus, a "Big Kid", Larry Y. used to whisper real “dirty words” in my ear. I thought that was neat to hear another young kid use some of the same words I heard adults say and that I wasn’t allowed to say. I probably whispered back in his ear, “Snot, booger, mucous”!, then softly snickered.  I’ve always thought certain words were very funny just in themselves. Words like mucous, duck, monkey, cat, muffin… That’s all I can think of at the moment, but I’ll think of more later and add them to the list if I remember (I won’t). AH HA! I did think of another one and just came back to add it, "Chicken".

 

I’ve never been able to figure out why they use symbols in comics such as #&@$ to represent some one swearing. Saying, “number sign, ampersand, “at” sign, and dollar sign”, doesn’t sound like any swear words I’ve ever heard. Well, that’s my account of our early use of “profanity”. Ugh, now I have to stop writing this and go do chores. SNOT, BOOGER, MUCOUS!!!!!!