dagblog - Comments for "Merry Christmas / Call the Police "

Thank you. ;o)

we are stardust — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 18:16:12 +0000

Thank you. ;o)

Great storytelling,

Ramona — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 02:45:11 +0000

In reply to Merry Christmas / Call the Police

Great storytelling, Stardust. It's hard to tell a story so fraught with drama in the grown-up voice describing the child's emotions when the child was you. You've done it exceedingly well. This one will stick with me, for sure. Bravo.

Thanks, Bud! (Isn't she

we are stardust — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 00:12:37 +0000

In reply to Tough story, but nicely told

Thanks, Bud! (Isn't she the most annoying little twerp?)

Tough story, but nicely told

miguelitoh2o — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 23:18:12 +0000

In reply to Merry Christmas / Call the Police

Tough story, but nicely told Kitten. ;)

Conventional wisdom has it

we are stardust — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 17:59:09 +0000

In reply to Stardust, I will echo all the

Conventional wisdom has it that the less you remember of your childhood, the more there is to block. I have different and more complicated beliefs on that, as you might guess. ;o) It is hard for me stay in the kid's eye view, really, and sometimes it can flop. Some of the most horrid stories I can't use dialogue: they happen as underwater then and now somehow, unless the dialogue was crucial to advancing the story. Gotta work on it. thanks for reading, CVille, and the nice comment.

LOL, Oxy! I think the

we are stardust — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 17:35:48 +0000

In reply to Great story, Star. I'll jump

LOL, Oxy! I think the Stephen King comparsion may have been that he saw this as horror genre, which did make me laugh, and it does appear that I'm no kitten. Miaow...

As far as the issue of class, I'd say that in the case of my in-laws, they were equally as apt to want to appear perfect to the community at large, and especially to their fellow church congregants. It's common as all giddy-up, and the operating silent agreement seems to be, "I won't dig under your mask if you don't dig under mine." Another painful lesson for myself and others I've known up close is: Woe to the family member who attempts to find the truth of some of the conveniently distorted versions. Many of our nieces and nephews over the years have seemingly intuitively known to come here to unload their versions of truth in attempts to heal from the family lies or things they were unable to express that would buck the famliy narrative, especially the uber-religious ones. They often went back to the same situations later, and I wondered how they could, knowing what they knew. Maybe just unburdening their persoanl monsters was enough respite for a time; I sure don't know.

I do think you're onto something with Obama and especially Senators: they get a taste of power and uber-wealth and they are attracted to it like moths to a flame. And woe is us.

Stardust, I will echo all the

CVille Dem — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 16:54:38 +0000

In reply to Merry Christmas / Call the Police

Stardust, I will echo all the other comments to this powerful story; you really put your readers right in that room with you. But I also am profoundly impressed by the depth of your observations at such a young age. I know it made an indelible impression on you, but not everyone can so eloquently capture the child's impotence and fears and do it with an adult's world view. Wow.

Great story, Star. I'll jump

Oxy Mora — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 16:41:52 +0000

In reply to Now that will take some

Great story, Star. I'll jump in here because wws's comment triggered a thought. At least it was true in my family--a great deal of effort into what we might call "keeping up appearances", a kind of "class" thing which substituted, except in real emergencies, for expressions of feelings and personal talk. It's interesting to think of all that in the context of the two-class society we have now and the fact that something we thought would reverse under Mr. O is simply being reinforced. The rich and the non-rich--what more class distinction do we need than that. And knowing you through print type I'd say that two terms which are definitely disqualified are "Stepthen King" and "kitten".

Now that will take some

we are stardust — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 15:38:19 +0000

In reply to Stardust: During the past few

Now that will take some cogitatin', wws! I'll try to re-read it later today with an eye toward your interesting question. One of my favorite diarists at FDL quipped that this piece was reminiscent of Stephen King; that sure did make me laugh! ;o)

Stardust: During the past few

wws — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 15:00:18 +0000

In reply to Not long afterward, we

Stardust: During the past few weeks I've read a few books again I read a long time ago. Fascinating, as the images I see, now, are different from those I pictured, then. As are the messages to be derived.

I read this powerful story of yours for the first time last year, and though the pictures in my head of what you describe are the same, today, the meaning of the story seems entirely different this year than it was last. So much has happened in the interim -- in the world, in our country, within our families and within ourselves. So I want to know: what does this experience you remember and describe so vividly mean to you, this year, that is different from all the times you've thought about the meaning of it before?