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#1
20 March 2007, 06:55 PM
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The Stranger (Received in Email)
Just got this in email. I couldn't find it, but chow if necc.
Note...when I first started reading it, I thought it was talking about Bush.  The Stranger A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small Texas town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on. As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger...he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies. If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind. Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.) Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home... Not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing. I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave. More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name?.... We just call him, "TV." * *Note: This should be required reading for every household in America!**
__________________
"Beneath my goody two shoes lie some very dark socks." - Lisa Simpson 
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#2
20 March 2007, 06:58 PM
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So...the stranger was Billy Joel?
Actually, I was assuming it was going to be Jesus. (Don't ask why; I'm conditioned, I guess.)
__________________
"Fancy living in one of these streets, never seeing anything beautiful, never eating anything savory...never saying anything clever," -Attributed to Winston Churchill, upon viewing the slums of England My Kiddy Lit Blog
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#3
20 March 2007, 07:01 PM
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Quote:
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#4
20 March 2007, 07:03 PM
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After all, Jesus did promote the liberal use of alcohol, and did talk about sex, and who's to say he didn't enjoy a fine Cuban once in a while?
__________________
"Beneath my goody two shoes lie some very dark socks." - Lisa Simpson
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#5
20 March 2007, 08:08 PM
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Yes, 50 years ago the TV used four letter words and talked nonstop about sex. It's always the TV's fault.
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#6
20 March 2007, 08:56 PM
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I am way to young to have guessed "radio".
__________________
Generally engaged in geekery.
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#8
20 March 2007, 09:23 PM
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I thought it was a bum they found in the streets. I don't think any tv will work for 50 years straight. It'd probably break.
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#9
20 March 2007, 09:41 PM
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Quote:
__________________
Generally engaged in geekery.
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#10
20 March 2007, 10:54 PM
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Quote:
James
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#12
21 March 2007, 01:39 PM
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At least Daddy didn't bring home the guy from the Camus novel. Then four letter words would have been the least of the family's concerns.
Did Jesus really promote the liberal use of alcohol though? I mean, sure he turned water into wine but nothing in the Bible indicates he got plastered.
__________________
My grandma's been baking biscuits for forty years. And they still ain't done yet!
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#14
21 March 2007, 02:48 PM
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Quote:
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#15
21 March 2007, 03:44 PM
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A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small Texas town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.
As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger...he was our conscience. He would simply stand behind us, and if we had a question about anything, he would simply nod or shake his head. Or he would be mysteriously silent on the subject, or ambiguous. If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or the evils of science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family from the beginning of time to the end of the world. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger didn't always make sense, especially with our modern knowledge and sensibilities, but we didn't seem to notice. Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever questioned the stranger's answers.) Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Incest, for example, was not allowed in our home... Not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with dad-on-daughter stories that burned my mind's eye and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn't permit the use of alcohol. But the stranger encouraged and discouraged us from using it on a seemingly random basis. He made atrocities look cool, genocide manly and beards distinguished. He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing. Quite frankly, he seemed more obsessed with the notion of two people "doin' it" than anything else he discussed. I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he contradicted himself, yet he was seldom questioned... And NEVER asked to explain himself. More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as applicable as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him arbitrarily deal devastation for the smallest infractions. His name?.... We just call him, "God."
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What a wonderfully sensible idea. Which, of course, means loud fundie idiots will be in an uproar over it. - Vilified http://www.kiva.org/team/atheists
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#16
21 March 2007, 04:24 PM
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The Stranger
A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small Texas town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on. As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger...he was our decider. He exploited our parents simple moral teachings and made us believe that tax cuts for the wealthy were ordained by God. If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game see a miserable team he himself had assembled. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind. As Dad said, "He's the kind of a man you can have a hamburger with". Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.) She knew that while he was shooting his mouth off condemning drugs and premarital sex that he himself had a checkered past. That woman could not abide a hypocrite. Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Lying, for example, was not allowed in our home... Not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with entire speeches that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger would sneak a guzzle when no one was looking. He made invading countries look cool, manly and distinguished. But if anyone got hurt, he was the last to visit them or care for them. His comments about war and foreign policy were generally embarrassing. to anyone outside Texas. More than six years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures, even though we now know he is a lying moron. His name?.... We just call him, "W"
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#17
16 April 2007, 02:33 PM
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PatYoung, YOMANK
That was the most creative anti-Bush thing I've seen in a while.
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