The world needs more trivia

Sometimes when I write my blog, I feel a little bit like Andy Rooney, from 60 Minutes. Think about it for a second. I sit at my keyboard waiting for inspiration to hit, but what usually comes out on the screen is drivel that nobody in their right mind could be bothered to read.
I think I've hit most of the same topics as he has too, from the rising cost of everyday items, to stupid products or television programs.
On the other hand, I like to think I've touched on some things of interest as well. I have discussed depression, disability and morality. Certainly I have written my fair share about the environment. Serious subjects may be few and far between, but that isn't really what blogging is about, is it? After all, I have described this space as a look into what's on my mind. We all have days when there just isn't much there.
The chief advantage the computer age has given us is the ability to record our daily lives in this fashion. We, as writers, can reveal as much or as little about ourselves as we wish to. In some cases, we talk about the issues that affect all of us, and in others, we get down to the nitty-gritty of just who we are. The important thing is that, as long as blogs exist, there will always be an outlet for our feelings and our creativity.
Do you ever wonder what it would have been like if the Internet had been around during key points of history? Imagine a soldier in the trenches of World War I, being able to put the hell he was experiencing into his own words, words that just anyone could read. People who made great discoveries in the early ages of civilization could have spread them farther and faster. In fact, the dark ages might never have happened at all.
As with any medium though, blogs can and do get used for less than noble purposes. It is the price we pay for advancement as a society. As the readers, at least we get to decide what is of value, and what can be ignored. In a repressive regime, even the press can be stopped. Ideas on the Internet are much harder to keep under wraps. Just ask the government of Burma.
Write on, fellow bloggers. Even if you do write trivia some days, at least it's trivia of your own interpretation.

Q: Do men ever grow up. A: No, our cartoons just get more graphic.

The title of this post really says it all. As I've gotten older, I never truly gave up watching cartoons. It's an art form that will never really die out. Not unlike the soap opera, which made the move from radio to television. I can see the day when cartoons are a major part of Internet content.
The worst part of it is that the core of cartooning has been lost. Most of the stuff you see these days is made in the animae style of Japan. That means big busted girls in extremely short school girl uniforms. Well, there is more to animae than that, but that seems to be the biggest trend, from what I've seen.
What comes out of North America are cartoons that you just don't want your kids watching, if you have any hope of raising something other than psychopaths. At first glance, The Simpsons, Futurama and the like may seem harmless. Wait for three minutes into the show. There is always some sexual, racist or antisocial content. Don't even get me started on South Park! There is a reason why these shows aren't supposed to be on before eight in the evening.
I'm more of a traditionalist when it comes to my cartoons. Give me a good episode of Bugs Bunny any day. Scooby Doo was another favourite. To this day, my father will snicker if you put in an old Scooby Doo tape and wait for a few seconds. Sometimes I think as we get older, our sense of humour atrophies, and the jokes have to become more and more crass just to get through.
Comic strips on the other hand, are another story. They are, for the most part, still the same, clean, family entertainment that we have always had. Which isn't to say that they cannot deal with adult issues. Being in the newspapers, they just have to do it in a mature, adult manner. I think the best examples of this is "For Better or For Worse" and "Baby Blues". Both have dealt with some pretty adult subjects in a way that does not offend the general reader.
I think that the older men get, the more infantile their idea of entertainment gets. As a man, I can say that without sounding like a sexist woman trying to bash males in general. What other guys will say is another matter.

Civic duty

In my humble opinion, we've dropped the ball again in the things we teach our kids. In this case, it can partly be blamed on the school system, and partly on the rest of us. I am talking about teaching kids about their responsibilities as citizens.
When I was younger, the basics of the Canadian Constitution were covered in History class. The key stuff was learned by the end of grade six. Now, so much is crammed into courses that kids don't even have a nodding acquaintance with the way our government works until high school. By that time, it is too late. Students have developed an apathy towards their civic duty, or they are already being asked to participate in the system and are confused.
Maybe as family we should be doing more. Each time an election is called, parents and older relatives (eligible to vote), should discuss the issues with their kids. After all, the government we elect today will make policies that will affect them down the road. That is the approach we could take too. We could ask them what they think about things, and in that way show them that their opinions already matter.
Kids these days assume that they have the right to do as they please. From an early age, they have an attitude of entitlement. Part of coping with demanding children could be showing them that with any "rights" they want come responsibilities, like taking part in making decisions and carrying them out.
Just a thought, but maybe when children reach the age of five or six, we should start giving them a vote on some family decisions. People seem to learn best when they start doing things at an early age. Maybe give them a little say in how groceries are bought. Just as much responsibility as they can handle, and that won't cause major headaches if the wrong decisions are made.
My point, (Yes, there is one.) is that we should be teaching our kids about the way our country is run from a very early age. It should not be done through book learning, but by example. Take your kids with you when you go to vote. And for heaven's sake, do vote! Let's set an example.

Monuments and memorials

My wife and I went out to the cemetery to take the flowers from her father's grave. When we did, we noticed a new monument. It was extremely tall, and had the family tree engraved on the one side, with a brief history of the family on the other. It was amazing. The stone was a beautiful shiny black granite, with pictures etched and then sealed on the one side.
This left me to thinking about monuments that we leave behind, and the way that we want to be remembered.
Granted, my final arrangements have been made, and they do not include a headstone or memorial of any kind.
I think, if I were to leave anything behind in memoriam, it would be something that could be enjoyed by others. I'd like to create a park or green space, with a small plaque bearing just my name and the date that the park was founded. I would not want the park named for me, just knowing that I had left something good for others would make me happy.
There is this tendency in our society to buy our memorials. If you are wealthy enough, you get a building or a bridge named after you. I'm waiting for the day that Conrad Black decides to build his own palace, if he has any money left after his time in prison.
The prime example of all of this self-aggrandizement is Donald Trump. Trump Tower, need I say more?
Naming something for yourself is the height of arrogance, especially if it is something that you and your family will maintain control of for as long as possible. The true memorial is something you give quietly to the community. If you are remembered for it, then you can be said to have been a person of note.
I'd just like to earn enough respect within the community I live in that I will be remembered, even without my name on some fancy bronze plaque.

The green life

I was taking out the trash last night, when I saw a can lying on the lawn. It's not enough that I have to take care of my own mess, but then I have to deal with stuff carelessly thrown about the property? With all of the talk about living green these days, I would have thought that there would be more effort to preserve the environment.
With the availability of recycling here in town, Sandra and I produce very little in the way of garbage. The only thing we really throw out most is kitty litter. I don't know if there is an environmentally friendly way to dispose of that. If we had the ability to compost, we could eliminate even further waste. Coffee grounds and filters apparently compost down to some of the best soil.
I think my ideal situation would be where waste output would be less than five percent of what is brought into the home. That would mean some changes in the way we do things. For starters, we would need a home that is built to be as energy efficient as possible.
That isn't so much of a challenge today as you might think. It's all about knowing your lifestyle, and how to get the most bang for your buck. Further more, an energy efficient home does not have to look any different from any other. Construction methods must change, not the style. The house of the future will not look so different from the home of today. The appearance means little, it's the structure and planning that matters.
I think, where the environment is concerned, we need to look to the past to find the solutions for the future.
Why do we waste so many of the planet's resources when some of the best stuff is sitting right in front of us? It seems to me that we should be mining our landfill sites. It takes decades for a simple piece of paper to decompose in the dump. With just a little effort, that paper could be recycled and still more trees saved. There are enough cans in our trash to keep us supplied with metal for ages.
It costs so much less to recycle as well. In terms of aluminum, recycling used metal uses only twenty-five percent of the energy required to process raw bauxite ore. It seems to me that, just in economic terms, we should start using what we already have to hand much more effectively.
Wouldn't it be ironic though, to see bulldozers digging up what we have wasted for so long?

Isabelle's Law

Apparently there is a new law in town. "Isabelle's Law" states that I have to get up at whatever time my little darling decides is appropriate. In the case of this morning, that would have been just after seven-thirty.

Enforcement of this law comes in a variety of manners. The first warning comes with little paws scratching (despite the complete lack of claws) on the side of my bed. If this is not given due attention, then the guilty party, aka me, is pounced upon, with or without the inclusion of a head butting.

I should probably note here that I am still mildly allergic to cat fur. Isabelle rubbing against my nose first thing in the morning usually results in a day of nasal issues, and the proximity of Kleenex. Besides which, who ever knew that cat skulls could be so hard. One of these days I'm going to show up in the hospital emergency room with a broken nose, and have to explain that my kitty cat beat me up. Don't worry, I'll post the pictures when it does happen.

The final trick for getting me out of bed is to find the nearest source of paper. My little fluff ball has learned early in life that chewing on my papers will get attention pretty quick. The more important the papers, the faster the covers fly off of me. Many is the time I have had to rush to save library books from her needle sharp little teeth. It's a game to her. Either that, or she really needs more fiber in her diet.

This morning, I opted to lose gracefully. Thank heavens for left-0ver coffee!

Depression and bi-polar disorder

Clinical depression is a severe condition to live with. Every time that you think things are finally getting better, something, even the smallest thing, will throw a monkey wrench into the works. When things are seriously off in your life, it's like you would rather have the whole world come to a stop.
I, myself, do not suffer in this way. Many members of my family do, or have bi-polar disorder, which is just as bad.
One of the biggest problems I face with depression is that no treatment is one hundred percent effective. It is almost impossible to get the right medication in the right dosage. Even when you can, the slightest change in metabolism can make it useless all over again.
The social stigma attached to emotional disorders is another aspect of depression that is difficult to deal with. Sometimes even family members will say, "Just get over it!" As if it were that simple! When the clinical illness is combined with traumatic events, of one kind or another, it just isn't possible to "get over" some things. It doesn't help to try to trivialize what a person is feeling either. In fact, sometimes it makes more sense just to acknowledge that they are feeling an intense emotion, even if you cannot understand it.
There is a lot to be said for just a little compassion, just being there when a person suffering from depression needs to be comforted. Understand that when they are angry and want to lash out, it isn't necessarily your fault. When a person is depressed, they will say things to you that they do not really mean, and that just depresses them even further.
I think what I really want to say to my family is that, no matter what they say or how they feel at any given time, I love them. I know they love me. When you are angry at the Universe in general, don't try to hold that anger inside. I will understand that it is not directed at me. Likewise, when you are upset, and don't really know why, that's okay too. You just worry about getting through that next bout of depression as best you can. I will be there on the other side with my hand out to pull you through.

More home remedies

Yesterday I wrote about the value of home remedies. I forgot to mention my all time favourite. It's what I turn to for just about any ailment.
Peppermint tea! It's great for upset stomachs, colds, cramps and just general malaise. Ever wondered what to do with those left-over candy canes from Christmas? Put them in the freezer or the back of the fridge. Whenever a case of the sneezes or nausea creeps up on you, fix a cup of tea and melt one of those candy canes in it.
Just about everyone laughs at me when I suggest this little cure-all. Until they ease a severe cold with it, that is.
Mint, in one form or another, has long been used medicinally. In medieval times, it was a staple of every herb garden. The tea was prescribed to calm the nerves and stave off scurvy. The leaves, eaten whole, were good for the stomach and definitely improved the breath. In an age before toothpaste, anything was a help.
I don't recall the name of the movie, but it involved a family of witches. For the most part, they kept their practices to themselves, but when illness struck, they would put together "potions" from their herb garden. Witchcraft, it seems to me, has never really been more than a mix of spiritualism and herbology. The persecution of witches by the religious community I think was misguided. Spiritual use of herbs and Christianity are not mutually exclusive. Only when the lore of witchcraft is used for harmful purposes does it become an evil.
I think my favourite fictional herbalist is Brother Cadfael, created by Ellis Peters. He is a Benedictine monk of the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul in Shrewsbury, England. Before coming to the cowl, he travelled the world and learned all about medicinal herbs, many of which he brought back with him, and cultivates in the gardens of the Abbey. A better example of natural medicine cannot be found.
I highly recommend that everyone learn about the healing plants that grow in their area. Remember, keep an aloe plant in your kitchen window, lavender by your garden gate and mint by your path.

Ear infection

My wife has been dealing with a major ear infection. The things are murder. The worst part is that there isn't a whole lot to be done about one. Antibiotics are pretty much useless, since we are talking about a virus for the most part.
She and I both used to get them a lot as kids. In her case, they are made worse by the fact that she needs to wear earplugs each night. I was lucky enough to outgrow the worst of them. That and tubes put into my ears as a child.
I've always found that the only thing that really works for an infection of this nature is rest and Tylenol for the pain.
Then there is the old standby to go with the rest. Chicken soup, or as I like to call it, Jewish penicillin.
Science has finally caught up with some of the old folk remedies. Chicken soup, ginseng, if it's been used as a treatment (Note that I don't say cure.) in the past, research has shown it to actually be effective. the only problem with all of that, is that the pharmaceutical industry likes to try and put these things into expensive pill forms.
I think maybe if we just payed a little more attention to our grandmothers when we were younger, we'd all be in better shape today. How often were we told to take cod liver oil and get lots of fresh air and exercise? Now the doctors tell us that omega 3 fatty acids (found in fish) and exercise are keys to staying healthy longer.
Unfortunately, my grandmother never had a remedy for an earache, aside from the rest and an elevated head.

Technological dependance

I've been putting a little bit of thought into my relationship with technology. This was prompted by reading one of the robot books by Isaac Asimov. In his books, people either use robots out of need, or by preference. On Earth, robots are unacceptable to be seen in society, and are often knocked around for the fun of it. On Spacer worlds, they are domestic staff, security and general attendants. It is unseemly not to have one about.
I think that I prefer my technology immobile and as unobtrusive as possible. If I had my way, the computer would be an all encompassing device, handling all of my data needs, but hidden in a box somewhere. The only time you would see it would be when it needs maintenance. It could control the temperature of the house, feed television signals to screens in various rooms and even answer direct verbal questions.
In short, I'd prefer to see a Star Trek version of the future as opposed to a Star Wars version, with droids running all over the place.
The flip side to that argument is that I can see where a mobile and autonomous robot would be useful in certain situations. For example, if an elderly person wishes to remain in his or her own home, a robot could be assigned to make sure that medication is taken properly, that the home is kept clean, and to summon help if needed. It might work best if such a device looked and acted somewhat human, I suppose.
What it all boils down to in the end is a question of just how dependent we want to become on the things that we create. At what point does the leisure we gain become outweighed by the loss of the ability to do things for ourselves?
Even the technology we have has left us at a disadvantage in some ways. There are kids out there that cannot do simple arithmetic in their heads. Spell checking has taken the place of learning to write properly. (I do have to admit that I use the spell check, but I don't rely on it. It never does the job completely right anyway.) An entire generation is growing up losing basic abilities.
The use of the Internet to cut and paste essays is another fine example of a good tool being used to avoid learning anything. When I went to school, writing papers was all about knowing the material. It would have been nice to have all of that data at my finger tips, but we should be stressing the absorption of the knowledge that the Internet gives us access to.
Maybe we should teach our children the basics of reading, writing and math before we let them use the tools to expand on that. It seems to me, that once you have mastered the "three r's", as we used to call them, education using computers could take you a lot farther.
As far as robotics goes, let's give that a chance to develop, without letting it interfere with our ability to do for ourselves.

My mother-in-law

I cannot wait until my mother-in-law is finally settled into a place permanently. At the moment, she is living alone. This is putting a lot of emotional strain on my wife, as we live an hour's drive away. Mom is getting up there in years, although you wouldn't know it to see the way she moves. (The woman won't stop for anything!)
Last night, her phone in the basement somehow got taken off the hook. My wife tried to call her several times. Sandra was up all night worrying. When she couldn't get an answer this morning, she woke me, and we called the police.
There is an O.P.P. detachment just across the street from her house. When I called, they said that they couldn't get anyone there in less than an hour! All we wanted was for somebody to go over and knock on the door for heaven's sake! Instead, we drove an hour to check on her ourselves.
Fortunately, it was just that the phone had fallen off of the hook.
My sister-in-law was there when we arrived. She had been trying to get hold of Mom all night too. At least she wasn't that far away, though she did have to take time off of work.
Mom wants to move to Morrisburg. There she has all of her friends and fellow church members. If she can get an apartment there, at least she will have people around her, and we can call around if we cannot reach her directly. Besides, Morrisburg is much closer, and we could get up to visit her more often. Sandra could use it as an excuse to get away from the apartment once a week or so.
Maybe I should just hurry up and win the lottery and build her a cottage right next door to us!

Tribunals and tribulations

Yesterday was a major pain in the neck. I was asked to appear before a tribunal regarding two of the tenants in the building that I live in. Now, for the sake of legality, I cannot name names. For the sake of ethics, I will try to be fair to all parties.
The hearings started at ten in the morning, so I had to get up earlier than usual to be there in time. As most of my friends know, I am not what could be termed a morning person. What I did not know was that this was a general hearing, meaning that more than one case was going to be heard. Neither of the ones I was being asked to testify to were even started until after noon. Have you ever heard the phrase "hurry up and wait?"
Well, the first case went up, and as witness for the landlord, I was asked to wait in the lobby, so as not to prejudice the case to follow. At least, I think that was the reason. Anyhow, I am sitting out there with the other witnesses, and the tenant involved in the second case is ranting and raving about how nobody is going to mess with her, and she will settle anyone who went against her!
I was never called in the first case, so I don't know more than that the Chair found in favour of the tenant. She came out jumping up and down, "I won, I won, I won!" She then proceeded to stick her tongue out at anyone in her vicinity.
The next tenant seemed to assume that this implied an easy victory for her. What she forgot to consider is that the best way to win a legal case is to keep your mouth shut and let evidence and witnesses speak for you.
This tenant would not let the Chair ask his questions, would not answer questions put to her directly, and would interrupt at every opportunity. When that tactic failed, she simply added whining to the strategy.
I said that I would be fair. In this case, that means telling you what I saw of the landlord's case and how it was presented.
Now, bear in mind, I only have a couple of years of university level law to go by, but I think the lawyer did not handle the case properly.
First of all, they went in there with hearsay accusations, complaints written about the tenant, but without witnesses to bear them up. As well, those written complaints were never disclosed to the tenant. The first rule of legal procedure is that both sides see all of the evidence to be presented ahead of time, so that they can provide evidence to refute that evidence. So most of the allegations of wrong-doing by the tenant were summarily dismissed.
Next, there was not proper provision for witnesses of credibility. By this, I mean that the police officers were not summoned to testify. Rather, they were summoned, but at such a late date that the summons was not served in time.
The Chair, for his part, made more than his share of blunders in all of this as well. He would switch from one matter to another, so that neither side of the argument knew which document to look at for any given testimony. He also seemed biased toward documents over witnesses (which is correct, for the most part) to the point of being unreasonable. He would demand documents to back up witness testimony before hearing that testimony.
As I said, the tenant did not seem to grasp that she was not to speak without being recognized by the chair. He was getting so upset with her behaviour, the lawyer's less than stellar evidence preparation and the hearsay nature of the case, that he couldn't work a straight line, even if he were so inclined. Several times, he lost his temper and had to cool down for a moment and try to find his place.
The upshot of all of this is that, while it was all a case of hearsay and testimony by both sides, with no documentation, he was able to make a decision. Her behaviour before the tribunal was such that he could understand the landlord's request to terminate the lease on the grounds that the tenant was a disruption to others and possibly a danger to people and property. He cautioned that if the landlord ever came before him again, he should have the evidence straight and laid out precisely.
I never had to testify. Before they could even get to the point where I had moved into the building, the Chair had made his decision. I spent six hours of my day sitting around listening to posturing, whining and people generally losing their tempers.
The lesson here is the one they drilled into me in my first year law classes. Be prepared when going to court. Be courteous, especially to the officials and your opponent. Most importantly, keep your mouth closed until you are asked to speak, and then, keep it brief.

Our newest project

My wife and I have been given a fish tank. My parents had it sitting around, and thought it might be a nice addition to the apartment. My sister has a lot of fish she can give us. Brenda promised us a bunch of male guppies. That way we don't have to worry about an overpopulated tank. If some die, we can get more from the same source.
It is amazing how much neat stuff is available for a fish tank these days. At Wal-Mart, we got some plants and a nice little cave for the fish to hide in.
What we could not find was a replacement top for the tank. We'll have to go to a specialty pet store for that, I think. We really want a proper top for the tank, not just to keep the cats out either. The light makes a big difference in how a fish tank looks.
I've seen special lights for aquariums. There are lights to keep your tank clean. Lamps that can bring out the colour of your fish, and bulbs that warm the tank for tropical fish. Somebody must be putting a lot of time and thought into how to make a bunch of little captive fish happy and healthy pets.
It is amazing how quickly we get attached to our pets. At this point it is a multi-billion dollar industry. The dog and cat food businesses alone keep many people employed. Just go through the pet department of any major chain store. The toys alone are mind boggling.
I am looking forward to having the fish tank set up though. There is something relaxing about watching some colourful fish swimming around like they don't have a care in the world.

My worth

I often wonder these days at my value as a husband, and as a member of my community.
My wife has been under a lot of stress lately. I do my best to reassure her that things will be okay, but it doesn't help. It's as if there is something I should be actively doing, but I'm not. There isn't any real way I can help her to feel better. I try to listen, but sometimes she doesn't want to talk.
That is part of the problem. She wants me to talk to her, but I just don't have anything helpful to say. When I don't say anything, it seems like I just don't care.
Where I feel like a drain on my community is that I don't do too much of anything. As a recipient of a disability pension, there are few places in the community that I can get proper employment. I just don't have the skills necessary. Retraining is possible, but would still leave me without much in the way of job options. In this area, most of the work available is either specialized, or requires an able-bodied person.
What that really leaves me with is trying to find someplace that can use a volunteer. I did do some volunteer work at one time. Perhaps I should go back to that. Maybe one of the local organizations could use some one to organize, or keep records or something.
As for my value as a husband, I just try to be there when she needs to talk, and stay out of the way when she just wants to be alone.

The Canadian dollar

For the last week, the Canadian dollar (affectionately known as the loonie) has been trading at par with the American dollar. That hasn't happened in the better part of thirty years. The result is a rush to the border for those searching for bargains.
What I can't understand is why the same item is so much less expensive when purchased in the United States. More than sixty percent of the time, that product was manufactured in Canada in the first place. Even if that weren't the case, the price difference is sometimes beyond belief. Books are a prime example. On average, a hardcover book can be up to twenty-five percent more expensive in Canada than in the States. What is the deal with that?
Of course, currency is going to become obsolete one of these days. As it is, most of the money that trades hands is "imaginary". It is all just numbers in a few computers. Aside from vending machines and certain coffee shops, there really isn't a need to carry cash anymore. Everybody uses debit cards these days. In the future, I see secure biometrics being used, your fingerprint is your bank account access.
Why should we bother with exchange rates? It is a global economy, despite the protests of certain extreme groups. Perhaps it is high time that we acknowledged the fact, and came up with one global currency, something that we could all agree upon the value of. When resources are harder to come by, the currency would be worth more, reflecting the amount of effort to produce goods and services.
If we are going to argue that people should be thinking of the environment on a global scale, then maybe we should think of the global economy, the resources that link all of us.
I am very much an idealist. On the other hand, I know just how much stands between an ideal world and reality. Just putting it out there for consideration.

Thanksgiving plans

Well, the plans have all been set for the Thanksgiving weekend.
Turns out, it's the only time Cathy will have to spend any time with the family. It's as well that I wanted to spend the day with them. She and Mary seemed pretty glad it worked out that way.
My brother understood the reasons why I didn't really want to get involved in a large gathering. I wasn't sure if he would or not, but it worked out. He told me that, given the confusion, it might be easier if we just stopped in on the way back from Mary's.
Actually, as was posted in the comments from the last post, it makes sense that we start doing things our own way now. Our family is getting a little too big for anything else. No one will be forgotten, we just won't get together in one place all at once as often.

Holidays

I'm in a bit of a quandary over the up-coming holidays.
In the past, I have always liked getting together with my family. Mom would always cook up way to much food. The house would be so crowed that getting to the bathroom was a problem, never mind whether or not somebody would be in there when you did make it. The noise and confusion was just a regular part of the holidays.
These days, I find myself wanting to avoid the crush. If I get into a crowd of more than five or six, all of the energy just gets drained right out of me. I tire very easily, and the sound of voices gives me a headache that lasts for hours.
My brother wants to have a big family do for Thanksgiving. (That's on October 8th here in Canada.) I just can't do it. For one thing, he wants to serve the meal rather late. My wife has a condition that does not allow her to eat after a certain time. Besides that, he is dating a woman with two young children. Put the three of them together with my brother, sister, three nieces and my parents, and you are talking about major chaos.
I do like to spend time with my family. It has just outgrown me. I need them to come in small, calm dosages. The real problem is, how do you say that to your family without hurting some body's feelings?
The other side of the coin is my in-laws. I love them dearly, and want to spend some quality time with them. They are the second best part of being married. Is it wrong for me to choose a peaceful afternoon with them on one or two of the holidays of the year?
Okay, maybe I'm trying to rationalize not taking part in my brother's big plans for Thanksgiving, but all of the things you have just read are true. When does the truth become the wrong thing? I would hope that somebody reading this could give me a little insight.