The Great Roof Caper

By Ed Penland

Victim

As the story goes, back in the late 50's (when I was a very small lad, not educated in the fine art of embellishment), Dee opened the window on the second floor of the house on Cumberland Street, the window over the kitchen roof, and lifted me and Ellie out onto the roof to get her some stones (they were poured on top of the tar when the roof was added) so she could throw them at people passing under the front windows. Mom (Aunt Pat) called up the steps for her so she closed the window and went to see what Mom wanted. Dee was sent to the store for something while Ellie and I were still out on the roof (remember, I was 8 when we moved to Trevose so my guess is that I was 4 or 5 at the time). Ellie and I, not being stupid like Peter (another story entirely) just sat by the window waiting for Dee to come and open the window. One of the neighbors saw us sitting out there and called my mother. She went upstairs, unlocked and opened the window, brought us in and punished us by taking our dessert for a week (which she shared the 2 extra helpings with Dee). It was over 25 years later when Mom found out that it was DEE who put us out there, and because we were under the penalty of death to ever ever ever tell Mom the things that Dee did, we never told. Mom still looks like she feels bad when that story is told, but I think she and Dee laugh about it when Ellie and I are not around.

Lesson learned?
Mom will take away your dessert, Dee will kill you



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