-
1.
The Pickle
Jar
As far back as
I can remember, the large pickle jar
sat
on the
floor beside the
dresser
in
my
parents'
bedroom.
When
he
got
ready
for
bed,
Dad
would
empty
his
pockets and toss his
coins into the jar. As a small boy I was always
fascinated at the
sounds the coins made
as they were dropped into the jar. They landed
with a merry
jingle when the jar was
almost empty. Then the tones gradually muted to a
dull thud
as the jar was filled.
I
used to
squat
on the floor in
front
of the jar
and
admire the
copper
and
silver
circles
that
glinted
like
a
pirate's
treasure
when
the
sun
poured
through the bedroom
window.
When
the
jar
was
filled,
Dad
would
sit
at
the
kitchen
table
and
roll
the
coins
before
taking
them
to
the
bank.
Taking
the
coins
to
the
bank
was
always
a
big
production. Stacked neatly in a small
cardboard box, the coins were placed between
Dad and me on the seat of his old
truck. Each and every time, as we drove to the
bank,
Dad would look at me hopefully.
mill, son. You're going to do better
than me. This old mill town's not going to hold
you back.
each and every
time, as
he slid the box of rolled
coins
across the
counter at
the bank toward the cashier, he would grin
proudly.
college fund. He'll never work
at the mill all his life like me.
We
would
always
celebrate
each
deposit
by
stopping
for
an
ice
cream
cone.
I
always got chocolate. Dad
always got vanilla. When the clerk at the ice
cream parlor
handed Dad his change, he
would show me the few coins nestled in his palm.
we get home, we'll start filling the
jar again.
He always let me
drop the first coins into the empty jar. As they
rattled around
with a brief, happy
jingle, we grinned at each other.
nickels, dimes and quarters,
1
The years
passed, and I finished college and took a job in
another town. Once,
while
visiting
my
parents,
I
used
the
phone
in
their
bedroom,
and
noticed
that
the
pickle jar was gone. It
had served its purpose and had been removed. A
lump rose in
my throat as I stared at
the spot beside the dresser where the jar had
always stood. My
dad was a man of few
words, and never lectured me on the values of
determination,
perseverance,
and
faith.
The
pickle
jar
had
taught
me
all
these
virtues
far
more
eloquently than the
most flowery of words could have done.
When I married, I told my wife Susan
about the significant part the lowly pickle
jar had played in my life as a boy. In
my mind, it defined, more than anything else,
how
much
my
dad
had
loved
me.
No
matter
how
rough
things
got
at
home,
Dad
continued to doggedly
drop his coins into the jar. Even the summer when
Dad got laid
off
from
the
mill,
and
Mama
had
to
serve
dried
beans
several
times
a
week,
not
a
single dime was taken from the jar. To
the contrary, as Dad looked across the table at
me,
pouring
catsup
over
my
beans
to
make
them
more
palatable,
he
became
more
determined than ever to make a way out
for me.
told me, his eyes
glistening,
to.
my
parents.
After
dinner,
Mom
and
Dad
sat
next
to
each
other
on
the
sofa,
taking
turns cuddling their
first grandchild. Jessica began to whimper softly,
and Susan took
her from Dad's arms.
into my parents' bedroom to diaper
her.
When Susan came back
into the living room, there was a strange mist in
her eyes.
She handed Jessica back to
Dad before taking my hand and quietly leading me
into
the room.
dresser. To my amazement,
there, as if it had never been removed, stood the
old pickle
jar, the bottom already
covered with coins.
2
I walked over to the pickle
jar, dug down into my pocket, and pulled out a
fistful
of
coins.
With
a
gamut
of
emotions
choking
me,
I
dropped
the
coins
into
the
jar.
I
looked up and saw that
Dad, carrying Jessica, had slipped quietly into
the room. Our
eyes locked, and I knew
he was feeling the same emotions I felt. Neither
one of us
could speak.
Exercises
1. Read
the following statements and decide whether they
are true (T) or false (F)
according to
the text.
1.
The sounds which the coins made as they
were dropped into the pickle jar greatly
interested the narrator. (
)
2.
Before taking
them to the bank, the father would ask his son to
count the coins.
(
)
3.
The Father was
a bit ashamed each time he slid the box of rolled
coins across the
counter at the bank. (
)
4.
After
each
deposit,
the
narrator
would
ask
his
father
to
buy
him
a
vanilla
ice
cream cone. (
)
5.
After
graduation from college, the narrator worked in
another town. (
)
6.
The narrator felt that he had learned
the values of determination, perseverance and
faith from the pickle jar. (
)
7.
From what his
father did, the narrator could feel his great love
for him. (
)
8.
The narrator
and his
wife spent
the
first
Christmas after their
marriage
with
his
parents. (
)
9.
Puzzled by what she saw, the narrator’s
wife led him into his parents’ bedroom.
(
)
10.
The narrator dropped a fistful of coins
into the jar in return for his father’s love for
him. (
)
2.
Choose
the
best
answer
to
each
of
the
following
questions
based
on
the
information of the text.
1.
When the
narrator was young, ___________.
A)
he used to
toss all the coins he had into a pickle
jar
B)
he used to like making sounds by
dropping coins into a pickle jar
C)
his father
used to save all the coins he had
D)
his father
used to give him all the coins he had
2.
By
depositing the coins in the bank, the father was
determined that ______.
A)
he would teach
his son the virtue of thrift
B)
he would leave
as much money as possible to his son
3