As a kid, Bill Gates was a royal pain in the ass; he was argumentative and stubborn and resisted his mother’s efforts to control him, often sparking a battle of wills.
All those things that she had expected of him – a clean room, being at the dinner table on time, not biting his pencils – were big sources of friction. Mother and son often had shouting matches and explosive arguments.
The battles reached a climax at dinner one night when Bill Gates was around 12. Over the table, he shouted at his mother, in an utterly, sarcastic smart-ass manner.
That was when Bill’s father lost his cool. In a blast of temper, he threw a glass of water in his son’s face!
Imagine that!
That was a rare outburst, coming from a father, a lawyer, now 83, who, while involved in his kids’ lives, was somewhat distant emotionally, which his children say probably reflects his generation.
The water-throwing incident came to light in Showing Up for Life, a little book written by the old man, to be published this week.
And how did his son respond to it?
Read the book to find out.