Small Talk: We'll Be Right Back

[friendperidot]

As far as "warsh" and "ice box", I'm from Missouri and my grandparents, my parents all said "warsh." I did until I moved to Washington DC in 1973, then I changed it. I also said Missoura until then, now I only pronounce it that way when I say, "I'm from Missoura, Show Me!" And until the mid 1960s, my Arkansas grandparents lived out in the country and had no electricity or running water. They had and used and ice box. My step-grandfather would hitch his team of mules to his wagon and go into town to fetch ice and water in those large metal milk cans that the American Pickers like so much. They used kerosene lamps and had a wood cook stove in the kitchen and another wood stove in the living room for heat. They also had no toilet, my step-grandfather wouldn't allow one in the house, not even after they moved to town and had electricity and running water. So, the use of "warsh" doesn't particularly bother me in the KFC ads.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

They also had no toilet, my step-grandfather wouldn't allow one in the house, not even after they moved to town and had electricity and running water. 

How come?

[chessiegal]

I had a great uncle who inherited his father's farm in central PA. No running water, electricity, wood burning stove in the kitchen, and another wood stove for heat, and an outhouse. My great aunt would have to pump water from the well outside. He sold most of the farm to a developer who built a golf course. At that point he had plenty of money to modernize but he was too effing cheap. He would collect the golf balls that fell on his property and sell them back to the golfers! I remember visiting there as a kid in the 50s, and my mom would bring toilet paper with her because he was too cheap to buy it. You'd never know what he had in the outhouse to wipe your arse. Not only was he cheap, he was a mean SOB. I really hate that I share a genetic history with someone like that.

[friendperidot]

4 hours ago, chessiegal said:

you'd never know what he had in the outhouse to wipe your arse. Not only was he cheap, he was a mean SOB. I really hate that I share a genetic history with someone like that.

I think that was a lot of similarities to my step-grandfather (my dad's birth father died when he was 4 and my grandmother married this man a year or so later.) I never liked him, he was mean and didn't seem to like kids. I know my grandparents were dirt poor and that may have been part of why he wouldn't allow a toilet in the house or it may have been that it was just the way it had always been and he didn't think it was clean or healthy or something. He was born in the late 1800s or the early 1900s, I'm not really sure, he was dirt poor all of his life and he had a way about him that would have had all 9 children that he and my grandmother had, separately and together, removed by child services. He was abusive, believed in using a belt or switch. My grandmother allowed it, I don't know if it was just the way things were or the times or if he just had a mean streak. I've learned a lot more about things since FB and I've grown very close to one of my aunts by marriage into the family. She's told me that her husband wouldn't talk much about his childhood, my dad wouldn't either. My dad left home at 16, I know a little about the abuse, we had a long talk one night and he told me some things and how he came to forgive his step-father. I know that I should forgive that man, my father did, but that one is a struggle for me. He died in 1973 so it should be ancient history, and my dad has been gone since 2000, but my heart still hurts for him when I think of things he and his siblings went through. 

One of the reasons I know a little about the abuse was my dad wrote a semi-autobiographical book. Some of his siblings liked it and some were so angry they stopped talking to him. They're all gone now and if in the clean-up and sort of the house I'll be doing in a few weeks (long story, 5 years in the making) if I find that book, I'm going to work on editing it and maybe try to get it published.

Edited August 20, 2020 by friendperidot

[Ashforth]

52 minutes ago, friendperidot said:

One of the reasons I know a little about the abuse was my dad wrote a semi-autobiographical book. Some of his siblings liked it and some were so angry they stopped talking to him. They're all gone now and if in the clean-up and sort of the house I'll be doing in a few weeks (long story, 5 years in the making) if I find that book, I'm going to work on editing it and maybe try to get it published.

Even if you don't get it published, YOU getting to read it is enough. My mother's side of the family has a tragic past of an abusive patriarch (her great grandfather, I think, but I'm not sure, it could have been her grandfather) and his wife and daughter committing suicide by drinking poison. They didn't get to tell their stories.

In other news, I started cleaning out my "junk room" (the second bedroom of my apartment) over the weekend and hired a junk removal company to come and take all of the shit away today. It's such a relief. There is still a lot to be done, but I could never have gotten all of that stuff down two flights of stairs and disposed of it by myself.

[friendperidot]

48 minutes ago, Ashforth said:

Even if you don't get it published, YOU getting to read it is enough.

I've read it, it's been several years. I have cousins it might be of interest to. It's not about just the abuse that went on. It's about the times, my dad was born in 1927, it's about poverty in rural Arkansas during the depression, it's about survival but mostly it's about hope. My father, for some weird reason, was the most optimistic, hopeful person I've ever known. My mother, on the other hand was a deep pessimist. I've inherited both. My optimism is tempered by wondering about all the results. I think I tend to be more of a realist than either of my parents were. My sister and my brother are more pessimistic. But they are also bi-polar, and addicts, more inherited genetic gifts that keep on giving. And my step-grandfather had no history of alcohol abuse, I think he had major depression all of his life and didn't know there was any other way to be. Mental illness was not recognized and definitely not analyzed during those times. Hmmm, that sounds like maybe I'm on my way to somewhat understanding Ike and maybe even forgiving him. Major breakthrough. Ike was my step-grandfather, I always called him that, my dad called him by his first name, he was never Dad. My Granddad was my Mother's Father. In our family we used "granddad" never "grandpa."

[smittykins]

18 hours ago, Ashforth said:

In other news, I started cleaning out my "junk room" (the second bedroom of my apartment)

That’s something I need to do, except it’s my laundry room(although I don’t have a washer or dryer, just miscellaneous junk and my cat’s litterbox).

[Ashforth]

6 hours ago, smittykins said:

That’s something I need to do, except it’s my laundry room(although I don’t have a washer or dryer, just miscellaneous junk and my cat’s litterbox).

I found the junk removal service I used on Craigslist and I think the price was fair. Just an idea. Of course, you always have to vet someone who will come to your home. I checked them out online first.

[peacheslatour]

14 hours ago, Ashforth said:

I found the junk removal service I used on Craigslist and I think the price was fair. Just an idea. Of course, you always have to vet someone who will come to your home. I checked them out online first.

I found a great junk removal guy when I was getting my dad's house ready to sell. He's kind of a funny guy. He always has to be cajoled into coming but once he does he does a really good job.

[mmecorday]

Regarding the deodorant discussion (I feel like I've waited my whole life to type that):

One morning I was getting ready for work and realized that I had neglected to buy new deodorant the day before. Normally I would just go without, but it was going to be a warm day and I didn't want my coworkers wondering why the news room smelled like the veal and pepper stand at the San Gennaro Festival in Little Italy. On a whim I decided to check the toiletries my mother left behind. She had died six months before and I just had not been able to dispose of her personal items yet. I looked in the bathroom cabinet and sure enough there was a brand new stick of Dove deodorant. I think Mom was looking out for me that day. And my coworkers. 😉

Edited August 27, 2020 by mmecorday

[Ashforth]

Sometimes it pays to be a bit of a pack rat. I haven't had a period in at least ten years, but this week I have a need for some "protection" (not the "poise in my pants" kind, ya'll, haha). I poked around in the bathroom cabinet under the sink, and voila! Maxipads and panty liners. 

[SnarkySheep]

On 8/20/2020 at 6:42 PM, friendperidot said:

I know my grandparents were dirt poor and that may have been part of why he wouldn't allow a toilet in the house or it may have been that it was just the way it had always been and he didn't think it was clean or healthy or something.

Actually, from what I've read, a lot of people were skeptical about indoor toilets at first - basically, they could not understand how the waste left the toilet and thus thought of the whole thing as rather unclean.

[Prevailing Wind]

23 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

My parents redecorated practically the minute my brother and I both moved out.  I think they were afraid one or the other of us would move back in if they didn't, lol.

 

When I left home, I took almost everything with me. Parents left the room as it was & a year later sold the house with my childhood twin bed still in it.  So I didn't even have a stash of memorabilia stored with them. All my stuff that I wanted was with me from the start.  My Dad was much more sentimental than my Mom, but if Mom said, "Pitch it" it got pitched.  I had to be just as ruthless with her stuff when she downsized from a 3 BR house to a 1 BR apartment... "Mother, why do you need NINE different pie pans in different sizes? You're diabetic; you shouldn't be having pie anyway!"  I let her keep two.  I was mean.  But it turned out, she never used those two after she moved, so when she moved again, they got donated to the thrift shop that supported the animal shelter.

[ctlady]

1 hour ago, Prevailing Wind said:

My parents redecorated practically the minute my brother and I both moved out.  I think they were afraid one or the other of us would move back in if they didn't, lol.

My brother went to a state college and was home on the weekends, but as soon as he graduated, he moved to Ohio, then NJ.  His room was promptly turned into my dad's 'den' - couch, recliner - the works.

My room became a 'guest' room - where I had been the only guest when I was between a divorce and getting my own place

[proserpina65]

4 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

 

When I left home, I took almost everything with me. Parents left the room as it was & a year later sold the house with my childhood twin bed still in it.  So I didn't even have a stash of memorabilia stored with them. All my stuff that I wanted was with me from the start.  My Dad was much more sentimental than my Mom, but if Mom said, "Pitch it" it got pitched.  I had to be just as ruthless with her stuff when she downsized from a 3 BR house to a 1 BR apartment... "Mother, why do you need NINE different pie pans in different sizes? You're diabetic; you shouldn't be having pie anyway!"  I let her keep two.  I was mean.  But it turned out, she never used those two after she moved, so when she moved again, they got donated to the thrift shop that supported the animal shelter.

I boxed up most of my stuff that I didn't take when I moved out, and my parents put it in the attic.  I had moved into their bedroom a few years before then, and they just changed the color and moved back into it.  My brother's room became a storage room, and it now houses the many, many, many boxes of my mother's Christmas decorations.

[Browncoat]

My room became the room where the grandkids stay when they visited.  My brother still stays in his old room when he visits our parents.  And my mother wrapped all our old stuff that we'd left behind and gave it back to us for Christmases and birthdays.

[janie jones]

22 hours ago, ctlady said:

My parents redecorated practically the minute my brother and I both moved out.  I think they were afraid one or the other of us would move back in if they didn't, lol.

Didn't stop me! I moved back and brought my husband! Maybe if my room had been kept as a shrine to me, we'd be living there right now and not my parents' room.

(Not really. Other than my desk and the stuff on the walls, and a few stuffed animals, everything either came with me or went in a box in the attic. We're using the master bedroom now because neither of my parents want to be going up and down the stairs anymore.)

[Bastet]

I lived with my parents for about a year after college, and when I moved out after that I took everything with me - I had plenty of storage space.  My mom immediately filled "my" closet, but they didn't do much to redecorate the room until my dad renovated the house.

[peacheslatour]

Just now, Bastet said:

I lived with my parents for about a year after college, and when I moved out after that I took everything with me - I had plenty of storage space.  My mom immediately filled "my" closet, but they didn't do much to redecorate the room until my dad renovated the house.

My dad had an electronics business he started with a friend. After I moved out they turned my room and the guest room next door into offices for the first couple years before they moved into rented offices downtown. After that my room was the guest room and the other office became a home office where my mom spent most of her time after discovering Ebay.

[Prevailing Wind]

I need to talk about Pluto TV again...OMG. I found an unintentionally hilarious channel.  Go to the "Explore" section, look at the last channel available - "SLOW TV"  Honest to Pete, I sat there last night for an hour, watching a railroad track.  The camera is apparently mounted on the front of the train and off you go, through the Norwegian countryside, passing through small towns, running alongside a lake, stopping at stations, and waiting on sidings for an oncoming two-car train to pass. It's kind of boring,  yet oddly compelling. Damn, Norway has some long-ass tunnels.  The one I caught the tail end of said it was specifically Norway; the other one didn't, but the scenery was similar.  The "bug" up in the corner says NRK, which is a Norwegian network. AND they wait a full 30 minutes before inserting 3 minutes of commercials.  Each "episode" is approx. 3½ hours!  I didn't sit still for ALL of that; 60 mintues was enough.

[SweetieDarling]

On 9/10/2020 at 7:19 PM, Prevailing Wind said:

I need to talk about Pluto TV again...OMG. I found an unintentionally hilarious channel.  Go to the "Explore" section, look at the last channel available - "SLOW TV"  Honest to Pete, I sat there last night for an hour, watching a railroad track.  The camera is apparently mounted on the front of the train and off you go, through the Norwegian countryside, passing through small towns, running alongside a lake, stopping at stations, and waiting on sidings for an oncoming two-car train to pass. It's kind of boring,  yet oddly compelling. Damn, Norway has some long-ass tunnels.  The one I caught the tail end of said it was specifically Norway; the other one didn't, but the scenery was similar.  The "bug" up in the corner says NRK, which is a Norwegian network. AND they wait a full 30 minutes before inserting 3 minutes of commercials.  Each "episode" is approx. 3½ hours!  I didn't sit still for ALL of that; 60 mintues was enough.

Found it!

Yeah, I could see watching this for an hour. It's oddly hypnotic. The (I'm going to guess local traditional) music was... interesting.

[Prevailing Wind]

The first ones I watched didn't have any music. It IS hypnotic. And it's great to fall asleep to.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

Are you sure that's shingles?

Yeah, I got it when I was in my twenties. I told my doctor I thought only old people got shingles and he said even babies can get it. How horrible.

[chessiegal]

How can a baby get shingles? Youi have to have chicken pox first to get shingles.

[peacheslatour]

17 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

How can a baby get shingles? Youi have to have chicken pox first to get shingles.

That's what he said. Shingles is contagious and can be spread from an affected person to babies, children, or adults who have not had chickenpox or have not had the chickenpox vaccine. But instead of developing shingles, these newly infected people develop chickenpox. 

[Prevailing Wind]

On 9/21/2020 at 6:10 PM, icemiser69 said:

I couldn't watch the camera mounted on a train programming.  I would be afraid somewhere along the way the train would hit an animal and that would result in me being horribly depressed.

Well, it's not LIVE, so they just wouldn't air one that had an "incident" in it like running over an animal, person, or car. It's safe to watch.

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

On 8/27/2020 at 7:17 PM, SnarkySheep said:

I know my grandparents were dirt poor and that may have been part of why he wouldn't allow a toilet in the house or it may have been that it was just the way it had always been and he didn't think it was clean or healthy or something.

The original toilets didn't have P-traps, that keep methane gas from coming out of the drain, that's why many homes had an outdoor toilet shed, and thunder jugs for the night time (Trust me, think about it and you'll figure out why they called them thunder jugs).      Even after they came up with the P-trap, some were still nervous about the dangers of methane in the house.     Also, if you put in indoor plumbing, you needed a septic system, and that was too expensive for some. 

[Ashforth]

On 9/26/2020 at 5:14 PM, Prevailing Wind said:

They make attachments for a regular toilet... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P2XZIP2?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8crSzeuH7AIVA6_ICh2wbgLIEAAYAiAAEgKoCvD_BwE

 

 

15 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I know people with the Kohler Bidet toilet seat, they like it.    Just keep the old one to swap out when you move. 

Thanks for the information, that's good to know. The linked one claimed to be super easy to install, but something tells me maybe not. I looked online at it and other brands and I don't know, it looks like the sprayer in the bowl might get in the way of, er, regular business. Maybe it folds up out of the way when not in use.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

On 9/27/2020 at 2:29 PM, Bastet said:

I like that one, and the one where the parents are using "fruit bowl" in place of curse words (since the kids are always around now).  In fact, the next time one of my football teams does something stupid today, I think I'll yell, "Guys!  What the fruit bowl?!"

My brother played high school and college basketball.  They could be penalized for swearing.  We learned about this because he got a penalty for yelling "fuck" when he broke a finger going for a layup. So my mother gave him suggestions of what to say instead - fudge sticks! Cheese and crackers! Jeezy squeezy!  My brother calmly explained that he would rather take the penalty than be mocked mercilessly for the remainder of his career for screaming "Jeezy squeezy!" 

Although I will admit that thanks to a commercial I do now say, "Son of a biscuit eater."

[Browncoat]

1 hour ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

Although I will admit that thanks to a commercial I do now say, "Son of a biscuit eater."

I say "son of a business man".

[CrazyInAlabama]

On 9/28/2020 at 7:45 AM, Ashforth said:

Thanks for the information, that's good to know. The linked one claimed to be super easy to install, but something tells me maybe not. I looked online at it and other brands and I don't know, it looks like the sprayer in the bowl might get in the way of, er, regular business. Maybe it folds up out of the way when not in use.

The water squirt attachment does stay out of the way when not in use.     

[Prevailing Wind]

13 hours ago, Deskisamess said:

I'm not a fan of reverse mortgages, but I also don't believe we "owe" our heirs anything. If we were wealthy, I'd love to be able to do something for our grandkids. But our mortgage free house is part of our retirement planning. It's not something we want to save so we can leave it to someone. And my elderly mom sold her mortgage free house last year, and is living on the money. I don't expect to be left anything.

After my grandparents moved to Miami, Nana wanted to go to Cuba. She talked about it all the time. By the time she had enough money saved, Castro came into power and we weren't allowed to go. She died disappointed.  <Segue> When my dad was put in a nursing home and my mom sold the big house to move closer to the nursing home, she was willing to lower the price by $10k, but the buyers never even offered a lower number. I asked her what she was gonna do with the "found" money. She said she was going to save it for me to inherit.  And I asked her, "Are you going to live your life with disappointment like your mother did?  She never got to see Cuba. You want to see the Panama Canal.  I don't think I could be happy inheriting money I know you could have spent on a life-long dream. GO DO IT."  She replied, "You're right - book us a cruise."  Now, how selfish would I have to be NOT to accompany my elderly mom on the cruise of a lifetime? 

It was a fabulous cruise - 19 days from San Francisco to New Orleans, 8 ports and a full transit of the canal. We spent almost all of that $10k. We must have bought every pic of us the ship's photog took - much better mementos than cheap souvenirs.  Although, I did buy a decorative dish that still has the price tag on it.  Mexico uses the dollar sign for pesos, so this dish says $17,000.  (It was under $6)  I just thought that was too funny, so I kept the price tag.

And the whole thing meant so much more to us than sticking the money in a CD.  I inherited not money, but great memories.

[Ashforth]

4 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

After my grandparents moved to Miami, Nana wanted to go to Cuba. She talked about it all the time. By the time she had enough money saved, Castro came into power and we weren't allowed to go. She died disappointed.  <Segue> When my dad was put in a nursing home and my mom sold the big house to move closer to the nursing home, she was willing to lower the price by $10k, but the buyers never even offered a lower number. I asked her what she was gonna do with the "found" money. She said she was going to save it for me to inherit.  And I asked her, "Are you going to live your life with disappointment like your mother did?  She never got to see Cuba. You want to see the Panama Canal.  I don't think I could be happy inheriting money I know you could have spent on a life-long dream. GO DO IT."  She replied, "You're right - book us a cruise."  Now, how selfish would I have to be NOT to accompany my elderly mom on the cruise of a lifetime? 

It was a fabulous cruise - 19 days from San Francisco to New Orleans, 8 ports and a full transit of the canal. We spent almost all of that $10k. We must have bought every pic of us the ship's photog took - much better mementos than cheap souvenirs.  Although, I did buy a decorative dish that still has the price tag on it.  Mexico uses the dollar sign for pesos, so this dish says $17,000.  (It was under $6)  I just thought that was too funny, so I kept the price tag.

And the whole thing meant so much more to us than sticking the money in a CD.  I inherited not money, but great memories.

Why are you making me cry so early in the morning? This is such a lovely story. It's what we need to hear during these terrible times.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Those are lovely stories.    I know too many people who put everything off until they retire, and then they're going to travel, or take up a hobby or something fun.   Then one or both get sick, and they never do anything they waited so long to do.    

The reason I loathe the anybody can qualify senior insurance so much are the situations I've run into over the years.   

A former co-worker's father couldn't qualify for any insurance (he had Black Lung some other kind of lung issue, heart problems) and in his final years lived in a travel trailer, and spent every extra penny on the guaranteed life anyone qualifies for.  When he died the two daughters (both sons were useless, and didn't even show for the funeral) went to the funeral home, made the arrangements, and when it was payment time, they handed the funeral director the insurance plans.    The funeral director had to explain that the plans the man signed up for took everyone who applied, because they only paid in certain cases, and after qualifying periods.    All of the plans he signed up for only paid if you died in an accident, and probably one that wasn't your fault.      The man had spend all of his money on these plans, and the family received nothing.    Funeral director said this happened to a lot of people.   People simply don't look at the conditions and terms.  

I blame a lot of the reverse mortgage issues on the person who gets the mortgage, never mentions it to the relatives, and it's all a huge mess when the person leaves the house, or dies.   Lack of transparency, and lack of planning.  Also, some people seem to think a reverse mortgage doesn't have to be paid back, and they're wrong.     It's a great tool for people who know about finances, and a bad tool for people who think it's a gold mine for them.    

I'm just so sick of the reverse mortgage, and no qualification insurance commercials.    I'm also sick of the commercials for Yo-plait, and the paper towel commercials with the kid with the sword, and other ones that show out of control kids.    

Edited October 9, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[smittykins]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The reason I loathe the anybody can qualify senior insurance so much are the situations I've run into over the years.   

And for those of us who are widowed younger than that(my husband was almost 42 and I was 38), they’re useless.  I ended up having to apply to Social Services for help with the “final expenses.”

[Prevailing Wind]

When I was on my Natchez Trace road trip, I kept meeting the same people at every overlook & rest stop. There was one couple in an RV who told me they downsized into a smaller house, but before they moved in, the husband said, "Let's go out in an RV and see America for a few weeks before we settle down."  Ten years later, they were still cruising around the US, enjoying their gypsy lifestyle. I thought that was so cool that they were spending time & money on stuff they really wanted to do.  She collected those National Park medallions you attach to a walking stick. We met up again at the Tupelo Visitors' Center where the volunteer in the gift shop had never even heard of the medallions. The couple went off to the restrooms and I kept poking around the gift shop and found the medallions. I showed them to the volunteer and then found my friends again and showed them where the medallions were. She exclaimed that I was her hero.  Hahahahaha.

I think that's why I'm so depressed during lockdown - I can't go on a Road Trip and I love meeting strangers and talking to them - and I MISS that so very much. I adore being home with my two cats, but I miss being on the road. As Dave Letterman said, "Travel is the best investment you can make in yourself."

[Browncoat]

Same, @Prevailing Wind.  I was meant to go on two fairly big trips this year, but the June one obviously didn't happen.  I suspect the December one won't either.  I think I miss travelling the most.

[Prevailing Wind]

A developer wants to turn our defunct mall into a mixed-use with apartments above a retail area. The county saw this as an excellent opportunity to hold the plan ransom until the developer fixes/updates infrastructure not even related to the project.  Needless to say, the mall sits there, vacant, deteriorating before our eyes.

[smittykins]

A former mall in the Syracuse area(Penn-Can)was turned into a multi-franchise car dealership called Drivers’ Village.

[cinsays]

9 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

A developer wants to turn our defunct mall into a mixed-use with apartments above a retail area. The county saw this as an excellent opportunity to hold the plan ransom until the developer fixes/updates infrastructure not even related to the project.  Needless to say, the mall sits there, vacant, deteriorating before our eyes.

Same here in Marietta, Ga, except the main objection is from residents around the area not wanting renters to bring down property values.  They prefer all the drug activity that goes on there instead I guess.

[janie jones]

12 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

A developer wants to turn our defunct mall into a mixed-use with apartments above a retail area. The county saw this as an excellent opportunity to hold the plan ransom until the developer fixes/updates infrastructure not even related to the project.  Needless to say, the mall sits there, vacant, deteriorating before our eyes.

I've heard that's a big new idea with unused malls. They want to turn them into little mixed-use communities with a common area where the parking lot was.

[Ashforth]

Total change of topic! A friend's daughter gave birth to a healthy baby boy yesterday. Yay! His name is Atlas.

I took a brief pause and said well, that's a strong name. We then laughed and agreed that it's unlikely that there will be a bunch of kids named Atlas in his classes when he goes to school. 

[peacheslatour]

25 minutes ago, Ashforth said:

Total change of topic! A friend's daughter gave birth to a healthy baby boy yesterday. Yay! His name is Atlas.

I took a brief pause and said well, that's a strong name. We then laughed and agreed that it's unlikely that there will be a bunch of kids named Atlas in his classes when he goes to school. 

Oh, that kid is going to be teased unmercifully.

[Gramto6]

1 hour ago, Ashforth said:

Total change of topic! A friend's daughter gave birth to a healthy baby boy yesterday. Yay! His name is Atlas.

I took a brief pause and said well, that's a strong name. We then laughed and agreed that it's unlikely that there will be a bunch of kids named Atlas in his classes when he goes to school. 

I hope he has a good middle name he can use if he wants.

[Ashforth]

25 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

I hope he has a good middle name he can use if he wants.

I was so thrown that I don't recall his middle name, but I don't think it was much better.

[cynicat]

28 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

I hope he has a good middle name he can use if he wants.

Shrugged?

[Ashforth]

13 minutes ago, cynicat said:

Shrugged?

If I could add 100 laugh likes, I would!

[SoMuchTV]

8 hours ago, Ashforth said:

Total change of topic! A friend's daughter gave birth to a healthy baby boy yesterday. Yay! His name is Atlas.

I took a brief pause and said well, that's a strong name. We then laughed and agreed that it's unlikely that there will be a bunch of kids named Atlas in his classes when he goes to school. 

 

7 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Oh, that kid is going to be teased unmercifully.

Really, I can’t imagine what basis kids his age would have for teasing. Kids have a lot of different names. Why would they think “atlas” was especially teasable?

[Prevailing Wind]

Maybe his middle name is Gazetteer.

[peacheslatour]

12 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

 

Really, I can’t imagine what basis kids his age would have for teasing. Kids have a lot of different names. Why would they think “atlas” was especially teasable?

I can think of at least 3 words they can call him without even trying. Kids can be vicious.