Did you ever feel deprived because you family never lived up to a Norman Rockwell image?

2015-11-26T11:39:48-05:00

I felt deprived until one day a friend of mine, a Lutheran pastor, assured me that no one else's family lived up to the images portrayed in a Rockwell painting. Did yours?

It's gotten worse with age, especially in this age of political correctness. My children have little tolerance for my traditional views and they certainly don't want their children infected with them. My wife, a very successful mother, is remonstrated if she dares suggest any child rearing advice to the very children she lovingly raised.

Then there are those other relations: Siblings, nieces and nephews. Dinner conversation is a minefield for any so brazen as to broach it with them. That's why I'm going armed (or armored) with a list of 10 No-Fail Dinner Party Conversation Starters http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carla-mcdonald-/10-nofail-dinner-party-co_b_5611000.html provided by that bastion of political correctness, The Huff Post.

I've also read The Democrat's Guide to Talking Politics with Your Republican Uncle http://www.yourrepublicanuncle.com/ to inure myself to the propaganda I can expect in spite of every effort to avoid discussing politics.

Thus I shall endeavor to abide by my wife's most fervent wish to keep peace in the family.

Good luck to all others who find themselves in my position.

I've written a very short story illustrating the problem. I mentioned that I was writing it in another discussion and promised that I would tell one of the participants that I would send a link when it was ready. Sadly, I've forgotten which discussion and the person's name. Hopefully they'll find it here...

http://www.jackdurish.com/7/post/2015/11/thanksgiving-table-talk.html

10 No-Fail Dinner Party Conversation Starters

Today, we're getting tipsy with the no-fail questions these 10 expert hosts ask to kick-start a conversation at a cocktail or dinner party.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 26 at 2015 12:43 PM

2015-11-26T12:43:58-05:00

Dinner usually goes well, but eventually current events come up and the fur starts to fly.
I am often asked my opinion - because I'm in the Army, that must make me a subject matter expert on everything from Mali to Fukashima to Ukraine to Syria.
Meh.
I do enjoy the banter though, until someone gets butthurt.
I expect that today's core topic will be the precursors to Armageddon in Syria. Usually I can parry attempts to tie every current event to prophesy, but this time I might just get sucked in.

Response by CPL Brian Clouser made Nov 26 at 2015 2:35 PM

2015-11-26T14:35:31-05:00

Nope, never did, never will. My family we fight tooth and nail with each other BUT God help anyone else that try it

Response by MSgt Curtis Ellis made Nov 26 at 2015 3:52 PM

2015-11-26T15:52:08-05:00

No... Childhood was waaaaaaay too much fun! LOL!

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 26 at 2015 3:56 PM

2015-11-26T15:56:05-05:00

The Norman Rockwell image of Thanksgiving is a total farce, albeit an iconic one. This is not the norm for any families nowadays.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 27 at 2015 3:11 AM

2015-11-27T03:11:16-05:00

Not at all deprived. We had our share of ups and downs, but what family didn't? We survived and still to this day can talk about what it was like growing up with nothing, but happy to have food on the table.

Response by LTC Jeffrey Strickland made Nov 27 at 2015 11:54 AM

2015-11-27T11:54:31-05:00

I had an absentee father, but we were never really lacking the essential things.

Response by SGT Marvin "Dave" Bigham made Nov 27 at 2015 6:37 PM

2015-11-27T18:37:43-05:00

Nope. I'm a military brat and proud to have and share what I got. Rockwell made pretty pictures...but so did Playboy.

Response by SGT Rick Ash made Nov 27 at 2015 8:34 PM

2015-11-27T20:34:08-05:00

I did grow up in a very traditional Norman Rockwell utopia. I was very active in school activities and competed in Speech and Spelling. Mom & Dad drove me to competitions all over the state and it paid off. As a Senior in H.S. I was the State Speech Champion and State Spelling Champion. I was President of the Debate Society in high school as well as the President of the Beta Club. I was Valedictorian of my Senior Class for Graduation.
I was an avid reader of everything from DC Comics to the Classics. The school librarian took an interest in me early on so I had a reading list of mandatory books to be read. And I enjoyed fiction as well. My Mother was the Head Dietitian for the County Schools and my Father was a very light blue collar worker for a transmission manufacturer as the Director of QA/QC. White frame house with a white picket fence out in the country. I was presented with a 6 year old Ford Fairlane for my 16th Birthday in which I promptly overhauled the engine, a 260 CI V8, under the supervision of my maternal grandfather who owned the local Gulf Gas Station with 20 repair bays. During the summer, lunch was served promptly at noon and supper was always on the table at promptly 5.
We had the first color TV console TV in the county, 3 stations out of Cincinnati was it. The only magazine subscriptions were TV Guide and Readers Digest. From the First Grade until my Senior year we never missed a Sunday at Bethel Methodist Church in our own pew.
I mowed lawns using Dad's push mower, I drove from yard to yard every day of the week. I always had a roll of twenties in my pocket. I lifted the mower into my trunk and off I would go. I had probably 25 regular customers. Yup, Mom & Dad plus my Sister and I were the perfect Norman Rockwell painting. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Mom & Dad are still alive, very healthy and active. Every other day or so when we visit we play the old, old game of "Rick, Do you remember,,,," Dad and I still trade Case Brand pocket knives.