I'm sure there were more similar incidents, but nothing comes to mind at the moment. Fast forward a couple of years to another event that has remained a very strong memory. I had received a makeup kit of some kind for Christmas, I think I was 7. It was something you used to mix up stuff to fill inside lip pencils and eye shadow pencils -- some sort of "do it yourself" kit.

While Dad was gone to work, Mom put my brother down for his nap and let me stay up while we were going to play with my new kit. We had gotten so far as 2 or 3 lipsticks when Dad came home from work. I think he may have come home early, I don't know, but I do know that for some reason he was furious that I wasn't taking a nap and that Mom and I were "playing makeup". I remember him yelling at me and Mom, and throwing things around. He sent me to my room to take a nap and I remember leaving, and hearing him continue to scream at my mother while he struck her. I was too afraid to turn around to see where or how he hit her.

I never saw the kit again, I can only assume that he broke it and/or threw it away. T'was par for the course ... looking back, that happened with many of my things.