Holiday dinners with the family

[TownsendPLocke]

I just came back from a weekend visiting family.I do this between Thanksgiving and Christmas to relieve some stress-and for a cheaper trip.

We had one dinner and one lunch together=in restuarants and I was so bored the entire time it was painful.

I have nothing in common with these folks besides blood.We share no interests at all.I try to find mutual ground but these folks do not read,go to movies,or watch anything but the most common TV programs,nor do they have any idea of what is going on in the world.

Conversation for them involves gossiping about people I have no idea about,or taking trips down memory lane visiting folks I do not care about-nor remember.

And of course the cure to all boredom for them is a trip to the mall.No why the fuck would I want to go shopping in some Pudunk mall when I visit the retail centers of the world?I tried to talk some of them into going to see Milk or Frost/Nixon-no dice

I do try to steer the conversation towards travel,movies,books,what is going on in my world-but that usually gets a"that is nice honey"and we are back to talking about Tammy and Don Hurlawulitzers latest break up

Torture I assure you,

I know it is just once a year-and I do want to be in my families life,I just wish it were more pleasent.

[Guest StuCotts]

Thomas Wolfe had it right. For memories that need jogging:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Can't_Go_Home_Again

I can picture an updated version of the novel in which it comes to pass that a (male) member of your family, preferably the four-times married one with a reputation as a chaser, is a closeted but fanatical reader of these boards, reads your post, recognizes you from it and turns sinister on you.

If I had the talent I'd write it.

[AdamSmith]

I can picture an updated version of the novel in which it comes to pass that a (male) member of your family, preferably the four-times married one with a reputation as a chaser, is a closeted but fanatical reader of these boards, reads your post, recognizes you from it and turns sinister on you.

Pitch-perfect! You have correctly transposed the key from Wolfe to Tennessee Williams.

Any such thing would include, as the villain's wife, Anna Magnani rampant.

[AdamSmith]

Conversation for them involves gossiping about people I have no idea about,or taking trips down memory lane visiting folks I do not care about-nor remember.

When you started out saying you visit family to relieve stress, I couldn't believe it.

Then I read the rest of your post.

I resemble your remarks!

But at long last, I can accept as iron law that family has zero real interest in what's new with me. So to divert them from current gossip, I try to get them talking about the family's past. From their parents' generation, to as far back as they can remember of their parents' and grandparents' stories. This stuff is usually immensely interesting, and not something that will be around forever.

Of course I am from Thomas Wolfe country, where reminiscing is still a religion. Maybe there are places & families where the past is not what it used to be.

[Guest TNTTed]

For a different perspective …. I wouldn’t mind being bored by my Mom and Dad a couple times a year. But they’re gone.

[Guest StuCotts]

My way to make get-togethers with my hither family enjoyable wouldn't work for anybody whose family lives far away and whose visits are expected to stretch for days or even weeks.

My visits, Thanksgiving or other, are strictly day trips. Specifically on Thanksgiving, I arrive laden with goodies made by my own hand. Ooh, aah and kissy kissy all around. Three generations are represented, with the happy result that conversation is plentiful and struggle-free. Goodwill is made to rule, even in the mandatory political discussions. Politically I'm a rose among thorns, but we all know what to expect from one another. Consequently, though language may get colorful, real eruptions are unknown.

The day is long. The tables groan with treats. Feasting is unrestrained. The time eventually comes to break it up. Sated participants tend to leave in ascending order of venerability. When I sense my moment has come, kissy kissy all around once again and everybody have a great life until we meet again, which won't be until next Thanksgiving or some family event.

As I said, it works for the short haul.

[AdamSmith]

A modest proposal for distracting the senses...

Shortly before sacrificing oneself to the family scene, take a judicious dose of mescaline or psilocybin, as taste dictates, then absorb this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLq8h66oGt0

[Guest StuCotts]

A modest proposal for distracting the senses...

Shortly before sacrificing oneself to the family scene, take a judicious dose of mescaline or psilocybin, as taste dictates, then absorb this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLq8h66oGt0

If I expected the occasion was going to be such that it would take that to distract me, I think I'd send regrets. Any pretext would do.

[AdamSmith]

If I expected the occasion was going to be such that it would take that to distract me, I think I'd send regrets. Any pretext would do.

Dire measures for dire straits!

[Guest Anton]

Hi TownsendPLocke,

I know it is just once a year-and I do want to be in my families life,I just wish it were more pleasent.

A surprising question crossed my mind when reading your post.

You clearly want to be in your families lives, but does your family want to be in your life?

(I hope you don't mind the question.)

Sincerely, Anton/Amsterdam.

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[OneFinger]

For a different perspective …. I wouldn’t mind being bored by my Mom and Dad a couple times a year. But they’re gone.

I totally agree with you. Although my parents and I had our "ups and downs", I still miss them now that they're gone.

But, I'd really encourage everyone to take in their conversations while they're still around. I've found out a lot about my family when I let them rattle on. For example:

I had heard for years about my father's half-brother that "rode off into the sunset" on his horse and was never heard from again. The last Thanksgiving before my father died, he started talking about his missing brother. Wanting to move the story along I said, "Oh you mean the one that rode off on the horse?" My father then admitted that he didn't really see him ride off but did see him go to the barn followed by his father. I then asked who really did see him ride off. My father replied, "Well, I'm not sure but everyone said that's what happened."

Long story short, I used that additional info to ask my father's other brother what really happened. My uncle eventually admitted that his father and the other brother got in an argument in the barn. A fight ensued and the brother was killed (don't know if it was murder or accidental). The family "invented" the story that he rode off into the sunset to protect their father. (They buried the body of the son in the barn. And, yes, we found human bones in the area where the old barn was located.)

Another time my mother, who was a WW II veteran, started talking about one of her brothers that was also in that war. (We all knew he had served in the war but didn't have any details.) When she casually mentioned something about "his citation", I followed up for more details. Turns out his unit received a Presidential Citation and he was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross (the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army).

Interesting what you can learn when you let the old folks talk.

[TownsendPLocke]

Hi TownsendPLocke,

A surprising question crossed my mind when reading your post.

You clearly want to be in your families lives, but does your family want to be in your life?

(I hope you don't mind the question.)

Sincerely, Anton/Amsterdam.

mobile : +31 6 4II7 3343 (when home)

website : http://www.gayescortsex.com/

reviews : http://www.gayescortsex.com/reviews.html

The part of my family that were present at these meals adore me.They just do not have any interest in the things that I treasure in this world(and I am not even talking about playing with hot guys like you Anton .I do have family members that I am not close to at all.