15 Lessons
There was a blue cartoon bull on a show I watched when I was little. He had a ring through his nose and would blow puffs of white smoke out of his huge nostrils every time he saw red. My mother saw red a lot. When she became angry at me or my sister or even just life in general, I would sometimes envision that blue bull’s face over hers and would then have to fight back a giggle. She’d see me pursing my lips wide-eyed as I watched the bull pacing around the room, a slim cigarette perched between long maroon nails and she’d say, “It’s fine to think whatever you want inside your head but you damn well better be careful what you say.” That was lesson number 1.