Another day, another exclamation-loaded flyer from Wally at Wally’s Intimida – home of the Sherpa Sport Utility Vehicle.
September is “Side With Sherpa” Month at Wally’s Intimida!
Believe it or not, Fall is just a few weeks away. And with Fall comes a change in the weather, but if the events of recent weeks are any guide, that means we’ll simply trade one violent extreme for another!
We’ve seen already seen Drought. Earthquakes. And Hurricanes! All bad!
Michele Bachmann thinks God is sending these calamities to get us to think more like she does. She’s entitled to her opinion, but that sounds a little self-important to me. If God really generates these storms to change our thinking, He’s clearly saying we should all stop being so stingy and buy a new Sherpa!
The Sherpa - It's a Butte!
Why? Only a Sherpa is big enough to withstand the worst that Nature can throw at us. And nature seems intent on emptying the arsenal! The Sherpa can straddle the largest geological fault. It can lean into the heaviest hurricane-force wind. And with 20 cup holders, there’s no reason to worry about drought, as long as you’ve got an extra bendy straw!
Yes, we’re under assault by nature! The Earth is trying to kill us! So why pretend everything is OK by putting yourself in a tiny “green” car that sacrifices comfort to placate the enemy? God is upping the ante and telling us it’s “on” in the Man vs. Environment Contest.
Yes, the Sherpa drinks gas. Yes, the Sherpa exhales carbon. Yes, the Sherpa drips oil. That’s what cars are supposed to do. It’s cultural! The Sherpa is Proud to be an Auto-American, unabashedly hostile to Air, Water and the Earth itself.
A Peak At Your New Sherpa!
Think about the happy times you’ve spent in nature, and think about the happy times you’ve spent in your car. Who wins? Be honest!
So it’s time to choose sides! You can cower while you’re crammed into your electric roller skate, if that’s what makes you feel secure. Or you can Sit Tall during “Side With Sherpa” Month, perched atop the World’s Largest Car!
Climb up and Hunker Down in a new Sherpa from Intimida from Wally’s!
It’s a Mighty Big Car!
It looks like Wally is going with the militant revolutionary class warfare script for his Fall sales pitch. Appealing to the base, or laying down the law?
Side choosing goes on all the time. Paper or plastic, recycle or throw it in the waste basket, or even pay taxes or don’t. I am not going so far as to stop paying my taxes although I admire those people who do this because they don’t want their money used to pay for war. I try to buy good locally grown food, but don’t tell my daughter that we are still buying some not so healthy things that she told us we should not eat.
Wow, only one Babooner comment this morning? Where is everyone? I noticed downtown is kind of quiet, too; maybe everyone’s packing for Labor Day already.
I agree with Jim, side-choosing goes on all day every day. The biggest problem is not people who actively choose to side with the devil, but people who fervently believe they’re on the side of the angels and wreak destruction in all righteousness. Everyone else has a litany of justifications: “everyone else is doing it, one person doesn’t matter, it’s just this once”. It’s true that an individual can’t make much if any headway against corporate power (or the old “military-industrial” complex), but I think it’s important to do the right thing even if it’s futile. Even if you fail, fail honorably!
Oh dear, that was more negative than I intended. Maybe someone else will wake up and post something cheerful?
Crow Girl, I was afraid that this blog was not working and I was not gettinfg comments that others were posting. I guess it is just a slow morning.
I agree with your comment that it is good to try to make good choices even if it seems that those choices might not make much or any difference. Also, I think that we should not feel that we have to always choose to take sides. Those people who say you are either with us or you are againest us are pushing too hard. We shouldn’t expect anyone to always chose to be on one side or the other.
You’re right Crow Girl, we’re off to a slow start this morning. I can almost hear all the baboon brains out there whirring away trying to decide which tack to take on this one. Get serious and deliver a political rant (the mere mention of MB in Dale’s blog almost ensures it), or get seriously silly. I’m gravitating toward levity for some reason, perhaps because I’m trying to decide whether or not to go to the State Fair today.
Of course, both Jim and Crow Girl are right, we choose sides all day long every day, and sooner or later we find ourselves in one camp or another, Republican or Democrat, Pro Choice or Pro Life, environmentalist or industrialist, vegetarian or carnivore. Once there, it’s difficult to find common ground. Right about now, food on a stick is calling me. I’m off to the Fair grounds!
I guess I did choose to take the seriously serious approach and not the seriously silly one, PJ. I should be able to think some fun or silly choices. Right now I think I will choose to do a little work in the garden which a fun job for me. Have a good day at the fair, PJ.
I am not good at talking about choices that come from the heart, Krista. However, I think that while choices that come from the heart can be painful, they can also be important choices that come from a good place. I suspect that the choices you made with your heart came from a good place
Kabobs are a great idea. They’ll go well with the ratatouille I’ve planned for my friend Helen’s retirement party this evening. Off to my supporting cast at Mike’s Butcher Shop.
I had to choose to be angry or choose to be forgiving when I realized that my husband had taken my car keys as well as his car keys when he left for work this morning, leaving me to walk to work. It isn’t very far but I still was pretty steamed as I trudged in. I was pretty much over my fit of pique by the time I got to my office, so I guess I chose both options. He has chosen to be contrite and apologetic. I’m going to mik it for all its worth.
I am covetous of the MacBook Air – they were just out when I got my MacBook Pro, and wish I woulda spent the extra $ for the solid-state Air. Ah well. Next time.
Hey gang–
It’s been a long day with the dentist first, MOA and then tech rehearsal for a show.
Good news is the dead laptop has a warrenty issue even at 4 years old. I have a 17″ MBP and wasn’t looking forward to spending money on a new one. So while this one isn’t ‘airy’ by any means, Will go back in a few days to retrieve it.
But maybe next time… yes, the Air….
And daughter got her picture taken with Sponge Bob to top it off.
When we had our nephew living with us, age 10-12 (Joel 3 years younger), I would try to completely stay out of their arguments, let them battle it out. Same thing in the kdgn. classroom – try to be fair, neutral and not favor one over the other. I failed at times, of course.
I am constantly trying to define/refine my stance on all those issues that have sides. I’m not usually preachy, and don’t appreciate when others are, but some sides I favor are: Macs over PCs, Pro-Life, liberal over conservative. I was going to say Prius over Sherpa, but Wally made some good points there, and I’m thinking about that. (Love this piece, Dale, will show it to others.)
Short time here – we still have OOTC (out of town company) and there is much to do on this last (hopefully) hot muggy day. Renee’s right, we’re supposed to have a cool down tomorrow.
I think a Sherpa should be -it’s own- Machinery Hill. But, of course, it would a machinery mountain or Mount Machinery. Ironically, you’d need a sherpa to get into your Sherpa. “We’ll establish a base camp at the foot of the running board. From there, we’ll send a door handle scouting party to disengage the latch so we can get inside.” Etc.
Even a sherpa guide might have trouble reaching the door handle by going up the side of the Sherpa mountain. Maybe the guide could find a way to go up a crevice at the edge of the door. If the route up the side of the Sherpa mountain doesn’t work, another route might be needed. It might be necessary find a route at the front of the Sherpa mountain and then take a transverse route across the hood to the door handle.
The hardest time to take sides was when my daughter was growing up. In the classic dynamic of our family, Molly would do something bad and become truculent while Kathe (former wife) would go ballistic, roaring all kinds of threats. I saw my role as the “flywheel” in the family, the one who tried to keep things steady and reasonable. Oh, the heartburn! If I sided with Molly, I would undercut Kathe and become the Good Parent to her Bad Parent. (That was an attractive move, but not one that respected Kathe’s genuine concerns as a parent.) If I sided with Kathe, I would be adding my support to someone who was already saying ugly things, the kind of things we just don’t believe in saying to a child anymore.
I didn’t care what either of them thought of me. My concern was to turn a terribly negative situation into one where a parent could feel emotional release and a child could feel she might have learned something useful. It sure isn’t easy being in the middle. Your footwork has to be perfect and you can never let your attention wander. If I was loving without taking sides, I’d often find a way to give the kid a hug and give the mother a double scotch, and we’d all sort of let the fireworks sputter to a meek end.
So often parents take their relationship issues out on the kids, or attempt to make the child take sides in disputes. When my sister’s ex passed away a few years ago in Tanzania, their oldest child, Jimmi, refused to go to his father’s funeral. I tried to “talk” with him via email about this, I was concerned that it was a decision he would later regret.
But Jimmi, 40 years old, to this day is so angry that when his mom and dad divorced, they forced him to chose which parent he wanted to live with. Jimmi was 9 years old at the time of the divorce, and it’s an issue that troubles him still. I suspect that his decision to not marry and have kids are, at least in part, due to this childhood trauma.
I’ll report, as one who has done his very best in this situation, that it is extremely difficult to get through a divorce without trying to score points using the child in the middle. In our family, Molly and I kept being pushed into the position of the friendly ones who were under attack from the angry adult. It would have been so easy for me to cast Kathe as the common enemy to us both. But I couldn’t see that as being fair, and it would ultimately deprive Molly of one of her parents. In the end, I think we did it as well as it can be done. We all get along now and are–with some natural limits, of course–friends.
Steve, I don’t think you have had to be in that situation to understand that. In fact, when I first read Dale’s blog this morning, that was exactly the situation I flashed on. I suppose because of my work at the alternative school, I’ve seen first hand what bad parenting can look like. I can’t say with any confidence that I would have done very well in that department had I had children. To know intellectually what is the right thing to do, and actually doing it, are two entirely different things. Kudos to all parents who love their kids enough not to harm the in this way.
I also suspect that because this was the circumstance that I immediately flashed on, my first instinct was to lighten things up a bit. As Krista touched on in her post, many of us have deep scars from having had to choose sides.
I often choose the buttered side, which means I land on my face.
I have a knack for choosing the wrong side and find myself in disgrace.
If I went to a protest, I would, I am sure, be sprayed with mace.
All of my sports teams end up in last place.
Ah, when it comes to choosing sides, I am a hopeless case.
Nicely put, Clyde, but there’s nothing wrong with rooting for the underdog.
When I was a child, The Swedish football (soccer) team would routinely beat the Danish team. My father claimed the Danes were the worlds’ best losers because they had more practice than anyone else. Sort of reminds me of Macalester College some years ago, celebrating one of, if not the, longest losing streaks in college football, almost to the point that they were sad when they won. Perverse perhaps, but refreshing. If you’re going to be bad at something, be the best at being bad.
I was at Mac during some of those years – we did take perverse pride in our losing team. Our soccer and ultimate frisbee teams did well, but American football, not so much. Ah well. They did finally win one during my four years there, breaking the streak, but it was a rare win. (Truth be told, it was a point in Mac’s favor that their football team was so bad – to my 17-year-old-choosing-a-college mind it meant that academics were more important than sports. A big plus for me.)
Good for you, Anna. Mac has alway attracted a different caliber of student. I love that school although I have never had the pleasure of actually attending it in any formal way.
My cousin Wes was a librarian at Mac in the 1980’s before he went to Columbia University for an advanced degree in document preservation and worked first at the New York Public Library and then Ohio State. He was proud of the losing record of the Mac sports teams.
44 years ago my parents threw their ancient silly prejudices at my brother’s choice of a wife, to which my brother reacted with an equal amount of venom. I was off a the U of Chicago fighting my own demons and ignored it all. A pox on all of them was my thought. My brother is so much older than me and had been gone from home so long, I had no connection with him. My sister and I used to be extremely close.
My sister tried to play the mediator, which upset my mother. It was impossible for her to do any wrong in our father’s eyes. She was for his entire often angry life the perfect human being. My brother got mad at her because any mediation meant my parents had to in some way be right and he in some way wrong. My mother did forgive her in a few months.
My parents and my brother did not speak for 12 years. When they did get together, it was because of my sister and because of my brother’s wife, who to the surprise of all of us, including her, turned out to be the image of my mother in every way. There was an uneasy peace for the next many years with some minimal contact. Then my brother’s wife, who clearly was a stabilizing influence on my brother’s often turbulent life, he dove the deep end of the dock of paranoia.
At our mother’s funeral he put on a nice display at the grave-side service, and then at our sister’s house he entertained all of her guests, mostly her friends and a few relatives (my parents lived in her town), with an over-the-top tirade, mostly aimed at her. He has apparently always seethed more silently against me.
There are two ways you can not choose sides, mediation and ignorance. Neither works in the family battleground.
It amazes me, Clyde, how common such situations are. Human beings and their psyches are fragile, yet most of us behave with a total disregard of that fact.
Sounds like there is a lot of healing still to do in your family. I sense that you’re hurting still, still struggling to come to peace with it, no?
As for choosing in family situations my dysfunctional family compares admirably to your dysfunctional family the familiar is more comfortable than the unknown I choose the one that gets me to the end result desired vs the comfortable one every time. Then again a peanut butter hot fudge malt is to die for every time ( linda that was magnificent fudge) Earl gray and Birkenstock Stetson open road Johnny walker black . When I choose one of these I choose not to choose any other option.
Yes, tim, we can all find some dysfuntion in our families, I am sure. I’m with you, I think. I don’t mind hearing about it, but I don’t want to go into detail about my own history regarding family dysfunction. i don’t mind if others do this. Time for remembering other things like that hot fudge. Oh no, I wasn’t there to try that. Well, there will be another time when I can make it to the place where there is something like that.
I frequently have to deal with divorce cases, and I tell parents under no circumstances should the children ever be given the choice of where to live. Judges are wonderful scapegoats, easy to blame, so let them make the decisions and keep the children out of the process.
Legal age and then some
I went through an ugly divorce where my x used the kids to gather evidence of my unfit nature as a parent, someone saved me while iveas going through it that the kids would always remember the way you acr throughout this trial, I had a spot on tje wall where I crossed off the months until I would be done having to deal with her loved that last tick mark
Dark chocolate and red wine. No decisions to be made there. And that’s about as much brain space as I have left today after my dizzying day at work. Next few weeks are going to involve steep learning curves, tap dancing, not having quite enough time, and trying to keep 14-16 plates in the air. Then “code freeze” happens (meaning no more behind-the-scenes updates to how the corporate web site looks or behaves), and work life gets easier again for a bit. Besides, I’m not much of an “either/or” kinda gal – I’m more of a “both/and”…
Warm but not terribly uncomfortable at the Fair. Llamas were petted, art works appreciated, fried foods skewered, and an accordion was spotted at Leinie Lodge. No serious decisions had to be made and no sides were taken. My day is complete.
Trail Baboon 
Good morning to all,
Side choosing goes on all the time. Paper or plastic, recycle or throw it in the waste basket, or even pay taxes or don’t. I am not going so far as to stop paying my taxes although I admire those people who do this because they don’t want their money used to pay for war. I try to buy good locally grown food, but don’t tell my daughter that we are still buying some not so healthy things that she told us we should not eat.
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Wow, only one Babooner comment this morning? Where is everyone? I noticed downtown is kind of quiet, too; maybe everyone’s packing for Labor Day already.
I agree with Jim, side-choosing goes on all day every day. The biggest problem is not people who actively choose to side with the devil, but people who fervently believe they’re on the side of the angels and wreak destruction in all righteousness. Everyone else has a litany of justifications: “everyone else is doing it, one person doesn’t matter, it’s just this once”. It’s true that an individual can’t make much if any headway against corporate power (or the old “military-industrial” complex), but I think it’s important to do the right thing even if it’s futile. Even if you fail, fail honorably!
Oh dear, that was more negative than I intended. Maybe someone else will wake up and post something cheerful?
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Crow Girl, I was afraid that this blog was not working and I was not gettinfg comments that others were posting. I guess it is just a slow morning.
I agree with your comment that it is good to try to make good choices even if it seems that those choices might not make much or any difference. Also, I think that we should not feel that we have to always choose to take sides. Those people who say you are either with us or you are againest us are pushing too hard. We shouldn’t expect anyone to always chose to be on one side or the other.
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I agree Jim. Though it seems impossible at times, I think we need to find common ground.
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Maybe this is more cheerful. Or maybe not. I always liked the wistful tone of this song.
I’m off to the Fair – maybe that’s where all the others are today.
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Not familiar with him but I like what I see and hear
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I don’t know what inspired the monkey but I kind of like it.
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Embedding not working today, but the link gets you there.
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Good morning baboons,
You’re right Crow Girl, we’re off to a slow start this morning. I can almost hear all the baboon brains out there whirring away trying to decide which tack to take on this one. Get serious and deliver a political rant (the mere mention of MB in Dale’s blog almost ensures it), or get seriously silly. I’m gravitating toward levity for some reason, perhaps because I’m trying to decide whether or not to go to the State Fair today.
Of course, both Jim and Crow Girl are right, we choose sides all day long every day, and sooner or later we find ourselves in one camp or another, Republican or Democrat, Pro Choice or Pro Life, environmentalist or industrialist, vegetarian or carnivore. Once there, it’s difficult to find common ground. Right about now, food on a stick is calling me. I’m off to the Fair grounds!
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If you go to the Pet Center, I will be at the Humane Society booth – 2:00 till closing. Do stop by!
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I guess I did choose to take the seriously serious approach and not the seriously silly one, PJ. I should be able to think some fun or silly choices. Right now I think I will choose to do a little work in the garden which a fun job for me. Have a good day at the fair, PJ.
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Too many times. I don’t wanna talk about it. I always choose, like a child, with my heart. It hasn’t worked well in my adult life.
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I am not good at talking about choices that come from the heart, Krista. However, I think that while choices that come from the heart can be painful, they can also be important choices that come from a good place. I suspect that the choices you made with your heart came from a good place
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Rise and Drag yourself with the headache to the computer Baboons:
I woke up with the weather change headache. Ugh.
I am not on the side of the headache. I oppose it for health reasons.
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I’m on your side on that one, Jacque!
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I’m in the anti-headache league as well.
Changed my mind about the Fair when I realized how hot and humid is it outside. Guess I’ll have to fix my own food on a stick.
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Okay, have a good day at home, PJ. You could have fun using some sticks to make some fancy Kabobs in place of the food on a stick at the fair.
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Kabobs are a great idea. They’ll go well with the ratatouille I’ve planned for my friend Helen’s retirement party this evening. Off to my supporting cast at Mike’s Butcher Shop.
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We had a cold front go through last night, and today I am wearing a sweater. I bet you Minnesota baboons will cool down tomorrow.
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YAY!!!
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I had to choose to be angry or choose to be forgiving when I realized that my husband had taken my car keys as well as his car keys when he left for work this morning, leaving me to walk to work. It isn’t very far but I still was pretty steamed as I trudged in. I was pretty much over my fit of pique by the time I got to my office, so I guess I chose both options. He has chosen to be contrite and apologetic. I’m going to mik it for all its worth.
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Morning–
I was at the dentist this morning and my mouth is still numb. How do you type with a numb mouth? Mrrrphhreed istd nubmeryllddry.
Heading to the Apple Store at MOA today…
Not in the Sherpa though… glad I have AC in the car.
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Ben I can recommend the new MacBook Air. Nice little machine.
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What’s airy about it? Who cares, I want one; I’m drooling…
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I am covetous of the MacBook Air – they were just out when I got my MacBook Pro, and wish I woulda spent the extra $ for the solid-state Air. Ah well. Next time.
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Ben, Since an Apple a day keeps the dr away maybe you should have gone to the MOA first and used preventive measures to avoid the numb mouth!
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Hey gang–
It’s been a long day with the dentist first, MOA and then tech rehearsal for a show.
Good news is the dead laptop has a warrenty issue even at 4 years old. I have a 17″ MBP and wasn’t looking forward to spending money on a new one. So while this one isn’t ‘airy’ by any means, Will go back in a few days to retrieve it.
But maybe next time… yes, the Air….
And daughter got her picture taken with Sponge Bob to top it off.
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How cool!
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When we had our nephew living with us, age 10-12 (Joel 3 years younger), I would try to completely stay out of their arguments, let them battle it out. Same thing in the kdgn. classroom – try to be fair, neutral and not favor one over the other. I failed at times, of course.
I am constantly trying to define/refine my stance on all those issues that have sides. I’m not usually preachy, and don’t appreciate when others are, but some sides I favor are: Macs over PCs, Pro-Life, liberal over conservative. I was going to say Prius over Sherpa, but Wally made some good points there, and I’m thinking about that. (Love this piece, Dale, will show it to others.)
Short time here – we still have OOTC (out of town company) and there is much to do on this last (hopefully) hot muggy day. Renee’s right, we’re supposed to have a cool down tomorrow.
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I think most baboons come down on the same side of a lot of issues, Barb. I’m certainly on your side of the issues you named.
One lesson I’ve learned is to not take sides when friends have relationship issues or are divorcing. If they reconcile you’ll have lost two friends.
I’d love to have a Prius, but having just repaired the exhaust on my 1998 SAAB to the tune of $379.00, I think I’l drive it another decade.
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I miss our old Saab… what a fun car.
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That’s good advice about the divorcing friends; I’m trying to keep it in mind with Lola’s parents…
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I think a Sherpa should be -it’s own- Machinery Hill. But, of course, it would a machinery mountain or Mount Machinery. Ironically, you’d need a sherpa to get into your Sherpa. “We’ll establish a base camp at the foot of the running board. From there, we’ll send a door handle scouting party to disengage the latch so we can get inside.” Etc.
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Even a sherpa guide might have trouble reaching the door handle by going up the side of the Sherpa mountain. Maybe the guide could find a way to go up a crevice at the edge of the door. If the route up the side of the Sherpa mountain doesn’t work, another route might be needed. It might be necessary find a route at the front of the Sherpa mountain and then take a transverse route across the hood to the door handle.
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🙂
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The hardest time to take sides was when my daughter was growing up. In the classic dynamic of our family, Molly would do something bad and become truculent while Kathe (former wife) would go ballistic, roaring all kinds of threats. I saw my role as the “flywheel” in the family, the one who tried to keep things steady and reasonable. Oh, the heartburn! If I sided with Molly, I would undercut Kathe and become the Good Parent to her Bad Parent. (That was an attractive move, but not one that respected Kathe’s genuine concerns as a parent.) If I sided with Kathe, I would be adding my support to someone who was already saying ugly things, the kind of things we just don’t believe in saying to a child anymore.
I didn’t care what either of them thought of me. My concern was to turn a terribly negative situation into one where a parent could feel emotional release and a child could feel she might have learned something useful. It sure isn’t easy being in the middle. Your footwork has to be perfect and you can never let your attention wander. If I was loving without taking sides, I’d often find a way to give the kid a hug and give the mother a double scotch, and we’d all sort of let the fireworks sputter to a meek end.
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So often parents take their relationship issues out on the kids, or attempt to make the child take sides in disputes. When my sister’s ex passed away a few years ago in Tanzania, their oldest child, Jimmi, refused to go to his father’s funeral. I tried to “talk” with him via email about this, I was concerned that it was a decision he would later regret.
But Jimmi, 40 years old, to this day is so angry that when his mom and dad divorced, they forced him to chose which parent he wanted to live with. Jimmi was 9 years old at the time of the divorce, and it’s an issue that troubles him still. I suspect that his decision to not marry and have kids are, at least in part, due to this childhood trauma.
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I’ll report, as one who has done his very best in this situation, that it is extremely difficult to get through a divorce without trying to score points using the child in the middle. In our family, Molly and I kept being pushed into the position of the friendly ones who were under attack from the angry adult. It would have been so easy for me to cast Kathe as the common enemy to us both. But I couldn’t see that as being fair, and it would ultimately deprive Molly of one of her parents. In the end, I think we did it as well as it can be done. We all get along now and are–with some natural limits, of course–friends.
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Steve, I don’t think you have had to be in that situation to understand that. In fact, when I first read Dale’s blog this morning, that was exactly the situation I flashed on. I suppose because of my work at the alternative school, I’ve seen first hand what bad parenting can look like. I can’t say with any confidence that I would have done very well in that department had I had children. To know intellectually what is the right thing to do, and actually doing it, are two entirely different things. Kudos to all parents who love their kids enough not to harm the in this way.
I also suspect that because this was the circumstance that I immediately flashed on, my first instinct was to lighten things up a bit. As Krista touched on in her post, many of us have deep scars from having had to choose sides.
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I often choose the buttered side, which means I land on my face.
I have a knack for choosing the wrong side and find myself in disgrace.
If I went to a protest, I would, I am sure, be sprayed with mace.
All of my sports teams end up in last place.
Ah, when it comes to choosing sides, I am a hopeless case.
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Nicely put, Clyde, but there’s nothing wrong with rooting for the underdog.
When I was a child, The Swedish football (soccer) team would routinely beat the Danish team. My father claimed the Danes were the worlds’ best losers because they had more practice than anyone else. Sort of reminds me of Macalester College some years ago, celebrating one of, if not the, longest losing streaks in college football, almost to the point that they were sad when they won. Perverse perhaps, but refreshing. If you’re going to be bad at something, be the best at being bad.
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I was at Mac during some of those years – we did take perverse pride in our losing team. Our soccer and ultimate frisbee teams did well, but American football, not so much. Ah well. They did finally win one during my four years there, breaking the streak, but it was a rare win. (Truth be told, it was a point in Mac’s favor that their football team was so bad – to my 17-year-old-choosing-a-college mind it meant that academics were more important than sports. A big plus for me.)
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Good for you, Anna. Mac has alway attracted a different caliber of student. I love that school although I have never had the pleasure of actually attending it in any formal way.
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My cousin Wes was a librarian at Mac in the 1980’s before he went to Columbia University for an advanced degree in document preservation and worked first at the New York Public Library and then Ohio State. He was proud of the losing record of the Mac sports teams.
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44 years ago my parents threw their ancient silly prejudices at my brother’s choice of a wife, to which my brother reacted with an equal amount of venom. I was off a the U of Chicago fighting my own demons and ignored it all. A pox on all of them was my thought. My brother is so much older than me and had been gone from home so long, I had no connection with him. My sister and I used to be extremely close.
My sister tried to play the mediator, which upset my mother. It was impossible for her to do any wrong in our father’s eyes. She was for his entire often angry life the perfect human being. My brother got mad at her because any mediation meant my parents had to in some way be right and he in some way wrong. My mother did forgive her in a few months.
My parents and my brother did not speak for 12 years. When they did get together, it was because of my sister and because of my brother’s wife, who to the surprise of all of us, including her, turned out to be the image of my mother in every way. There was an uneasy peace for the next many years with some minimal contact. Then my brother’s wife, who clearly was a stabilizing influence on my brother’s often turbulent life, he dove the deep end of the dock of paranoia.
At our mother’s funeral he put on a nice display at the grave-side service, and then at our sister’s house he entertained all of her guests, mostly her friends and a few relatives (my parents lived in her town), with an over-the-top tirade, mostly aimed at her. He has apparently always seethed more silently against me.
There are two ways you can not choose sides, mediation and ignorance. Neither works in the family battleground.
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It amazes me, Clyde, how common such situations are. Human beings and their psyches are fragile, yet most of us behave with a total disregard of that fact.
Sounds like there is a lot of healing still to do in your family. I sense that you’re hurting still, still struggling to come to peace with it, no?
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Only because my sister cannot get past it.
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I was thinking of a more Robert frost the path less chosen angle
every choice is to choose not to do everything else
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…and not to decide is in itself a decision.
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Decidedly
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I have yet to decide if that is true.
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As for choosing in family situations my dysfunctional family compares admirably to your dysfunctional family the familiar is more comfortable than the unknown I choose the one that gets me to the end result desired vs the comfortable one every time. Then again a peanut butter hot fudge malt is to die for every time ( linda that was magnificent fudge) Earl gray and Birkenstock Stetson open road Johnny walker black . When I choose one of these I choose not to choose any other option.
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Up to what age?
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Yes, tim, we can all find some dysfuntion in our families, I am sure. I’m with you, I think. I don’t mind hearing about it, but I don’t want to go into detail about my own history regarding family dysfunction. i don’t mind if others do this. Time for remembering other things like that hot fudge. Oh no, I wasn’t there to try that. Well, there will be another time when I can make it to the place where there is something like that.
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I frequently have to deal with divorce cases, and I tell parents under no circumstances should the children ever be given the choice of where to live. Judges are wonderful scapegoats, easy to blame, so let them make the decisions and keep the children out of the process.
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Up to what age, Renee?
Put it in the wrong place above.)
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Legal age and then some
I went through an ugly divorce where my x used the kids to gather evidence of my unfit nature as a parent, someone saved me while iveas going through it that the kids would always remember the way you acr throughout this trial, I had a spot on tje wall where I crossed off the months until I would be done having to deal with her loved that last tick mark
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Until they are legal adults.
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Dark chocolate and red wine. No decisions to be made there. And that’s about as much brain space as I have left today after my dizzying day at work. Next few weeks are going to involve steep learning curves, tap dancing, not having quite enough time, and trying to keep 14-16 plates in the air. Then “code freeze” happens (meaning no more behind-the-scenes updates to how the corporate web site looks or behaves), and work life gets easier again for a bit. Besides, I’m not much of an “either/or” kinda gal – I’m more of a “both/and”…
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You can be both an “either/or” and a “both/and” kinda gal. You don’t have to choose.
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Yep!
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Warm but not terribly uncomfortable at the Fair. Llamas were petted, art works appreciated, fried foods skewered, and an accordion was spotted at Leinie Lodge. No serious decisions had to be made and no sides were taken. My day is complete.
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job well done. nice art this year eh?
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Yes, nice sculptures. I especially liked the big blue pinecone. And the plane made out of a church.
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ttfn
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Good morning, Clyde. Not good at acronyms. What does ttfn mean?
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Ta Ta For Now
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