He did what?

The above photo looks like any regular, old-school snapshot from the 1920s or 1930s. The Christmas tree looks a bit bedraggled. The room appears disordered. The boy is my father. The place is my grandparents' home. And, as Paul Harvey used to say, "Now, here is the rest of the story."

Dad, who I have learned from reliable sources, was a bit of a wild child, even from an early age. This picture is the aftermath of one of Dad's pranks. He blew up the Christmas tree, quite literally, with a large firecracker (we used to call them cherry-bombs in my youth).

Dad looks like he is five or six in the picture; old enough to know better. I can only imagine why he would do such a thing. My grandfather was quite the disciplinarian, so I am sure Dad got a paddling.

The angelic looking boy below is another photo of my father.