Right?

The Boris thing would certainly be on brand!

I could not love Hugh Grant more than I do at this exact moment in time. [link]

What a lovely set of memories from your sister!

Oh, man, that's funny! (Hugh's mechanations)

Hmmm, -t, Safety Guy bailing is totally suspicious.

Well played, Mr Grant! And activists. That's hilarious and apt

I really want McConnell gone. And Clarence Thomas and others.

I had a fairly ok day at work. Came home , M's niece was here. Somehow we know also have his cousin's daughter. M's sister left her long time partner (thank god, this is a good thing) and has gotten a job working at a factory overnights (the job sucks, I wish she would find a better one) and for some reason no one can watch M's niece and then we found out no one can watch his cousin's daughter so....now we have 2 girls I don't know well and I'm kind of hiding. I don't feel social at all.

I have tomorrow off so that is good. I'm going to try to do something fun.

Timelies all!

Nice stories, David.

Lovely stories and memories, David.

Lovely stories and memories, David.

What started as lovely memories with my sister turned into a deeper and darker discussion on issues with our parents, especially our mother.

I knew that my mother was institutionalized when I was an infant. I didn't know (a) it was for 8 months; (b) that she underwent shock therapy (ECT); (c) that she was heavily medicated for the rest of her life; or (d) that she had a bipolar diagnosis.

I did know that my parents were both on "diet" pills (aka, speed) at various points in their lives. And I did know that my father had to take hormones for several years to have me because he'd been exposed to an improperly shielded infrared machine (used in the hospital where he was a physical therapist).

I didn't know that (a) the military made my dad take speed because he was chubby, and (b) I never really thought about how being on speed and testosterone affected my dad's behavior (there were violent outbursts).

But the biggest weird thing was like one of those plot reveals where the narrative goes back in time and somebody you did not expect to be there was present at the scene of a key event and you have to re-think the context of everything.

I think I've mentioned before that the woman who taught me to read was named Buddy Newbury. She lived across the street from us on the Air Force base. She had cat-eye glasses, and very red lipstick (so in my mind's eye is sort of like Flannery O'Connor). And she was very smart, and skinny and kind to me, and I remember sitting in her lap as she read dinosaur books to me. These memories are very early for me - like age 3 or 4.

So my sister is talking about the moment where my mom had the breakdown where she was institutionalized (which I've heard before), and then my sister says, "When Mom collapsed I ran down the street to get Buddy Newbury who got mom cleaned up and looked after me when they came to take her away."

So the woman I remember dimly at age 4, was present when I was 8 months old as well and looking after me and my sister.

HOWEVER, she wasn't just some angel figure, she was her own complicated woman living in a crushingly sexist (I kept thinking of Mad Men and Betty's Twilight induced birth, and Alexis Beidel's character receiving shock therapy) world.

Other facts about Buddy Newbury I never knew: she grew up very wealthy with a governess; she ran away from her family and became a Rockette (my sister used to dress up in her showgirl outfits); she married a military man (but just a sergeant - not an officer as would be expected for her class); she had two children (?!) that were not at her house and she had difficult relationships with.

Well, that is a lot to take in!

Wow, Hec. That is a lot of new information. Buddy sounds like a very interesting woman.