A Reminiscence -- Bloody Ketchup

I have many very happy memories of my childhood...This is not one of them.

My parents are a wonderful couple. As parents, no one could ask for better. Being the youngest by far (of three) sometimes meant that fun had to be found however one could. The fact that I was (and still am) naive and gullible made me an easy target.

This incident occurred, to the best of my memory, when I was four or five years old; around 1971. I don't recall my mother, older brother or older sister being around, just my dad and myself.

At some point, my father and I started playing the pinching game, where I would pinch him and he'd say "Ouch!". And then he would pinch me. Really he wouldn't; he would just barely touch me. I would laugh and giggle. And the game would start again.

After a few rounds, I gave my dad what my little mind thought was an all-out pinch. My dad howled in pain and made such a racket that I panicked and ran into my bedroom, terrified that I actually hurt my dad. A few minutes later, I ventured out to see what kind of trouble I was in. It was quiet. No more noise from my dad. I turned and found him in the kitchen stepping out from behind the open refrigerator door. Then I screamed!...

I saw, running down his arm where I had delivered my pinch, streams of blood!

How could this have happened? What had I done? These thoughts roared through my tiny mind as I wailed in terror! Again, I turned and ran back into my room.

At just this moment, the front door opened and my mother walked in. A few minutes later she came to me and told me that everything was ok. Dad was ok and he wasn't upset with me. I don't remember anything after that.

Many, many years later, in late 1995 I believe, I was sitting in my parent's living room with my wife who was pregnant with my son. We were talking about parenting and the upcoming birth. My parents started to tell my wife stories from my youth. Well, I had to get mine in, so I related the story of the blood and pinching game.

As I finished my tale, I saw my mom give my dad an evil look. What's that for, I asked? Under my mother's glare, my father haltingly admitted that all those years ago, what I thought was blood streaming down his arm, was actually ketchup!

I couldn't believe it! He tricked me! He pulled the wool over me but good. We all laughed.