Thanksgiving at Home
I love to be with all my relatives, but it never quite works out as it should. This year I think I offended my sister when my sister-in-law mentioned that she had tickets to come and see my daughter in her ballet. Uh-oh. It's a very unimportant part and my sister-in-law asked me for tickets without prompting. Why should I have to make sure my sister had first dibs? Oh well.
My brother is a religious conservative and we always end up talking politics. I am pro-war as he is, but I am not a fan of Bush and especially dislike his posse. But, in the spirit of amity, I tried to say something vague, but nice. "He's a good judge of personnel," I say. Now, I think I'm right about that, simply because I don't sense that he is a micro-manager. He doesn't really have the smarts himself to do all the analysis, and he knows it, which is a good thing. He surrounds himself with competent people who share his basic beliefs and who he knows are loyal to him.
Unfortunately, when I said this, my nephew the left-liberal, became incensed and said, "Like who? Cheney?" No, I said, I'm not real fond of Chaney but Bush probably didn't have a choice in that. At this point I regretted the whole line of discussion, because I'm not really sure why I dislike Cheney so much, and I knew I was probably wrong, in many senses about both of my assertions. But it was too late to duck out of it, and I'm certainly too proud to back down.
My nephew sits there thinking I'm an idiot, and my brother, by this time, is on a loud monologue about Cheney's virtues and why Bush loves him. Everybody else is looking nervous. In the past, when this sort of thing has happened, we ended up insulting each other and storming out of the house. At any rate, my other sister, the nephew's mother, chooses this moment to shut the drawer on my brother's finger. Things get a little out of control. He's hollering and she's apologizing extravagantly, and my brother keeps repeating that he's all right. My nephew and I take the opportunity to go somewhere else until things simmer down.
My sister is very sweet, but more clever than any of us and quite capable of taking decisive action and lying about it. My brother and I will put the whole thing out of our minds, but the irritating part of the scene to me is that I will never know for sure whether she did it on purpose.
I am thankful for all of them. I'm also thankful it wasn't my finger in the drawer.
11/27/200511:33 PM
posted by jj mollo @ 11/27/2005 11:39:00 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I blame the whole thing on Halliburton.
No kidding.
Which do you blame on Halliburton? Chaney's unsavory persona? Bush selecting Chaney as VP? The War in Iraq? Problems with the War in Iraq? Poor performance in reconstructing the infrastructure in Iraq? Public disputes over the War in Iraq? Family dissension? My brother's tendency to orate? Or the thing with the drawer?
I tend to blame everything on the diabolical mechanisms of politics that encourage everyone to lie and promote only people who steal.
Halliburton gave Cheney influence he had not earned, then primed him to return to government, then tainted the liberation of Iraq when Cheney declined to resign, then gave your family an argument that wound up your nephew, whipped up your brother, and inspired your sister to slam a drawer on your brother’s finger.
There’s a direct line from Halliburton to your brother’s damaged digit.
*L* Oh I have NO doubt that your sister exercised impeccable timing.
I come from a mixed bag family on politics too. My siblings seem to agree to disagree and end it with "more wine?" or "pass me a beer please?" We just assume we only lose with those arguments.
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