I had an aunt who used to store her booze in the pantry off her kitchen where she lined up her household detergents.
She was tall, lithe, and impeccably dressed and very religious and strict but would swoop into a room like Loretta Young at the beginning of a party at her house but by the time the evening was mid-point, she’d be emerging from the kitchen wearing rubber gloves and her kitty on her head. She was never observed drinking in public.
When she was older and a widow, she had a companion whose nickname was “Pet”, and they went to church and came home and pretty much drank the rest of the day. They used to ruminate about the past, fight once more battles long settled, and pretty much feel the righteousness of a muddled mind, lurching from one dictum to another.
I’m thinking of auntie today because I read in the paper that Clarence Thomas’s wife had left a voice message on Professor Hill’s office phone at Brandeis University, about 15 miles from me.
Apparently, her message was suggesting Professor Hill apologize for her testimony to the Senate Judicial Committee when Clarence Thomas was being confirmed.
She has confirmed leaving the message through her publicist (she’ll be needing several more after this) but said it was some sort of offering of an olive branch to Professor Hill.
This isn’t sizing up as an olive branch to me. What about you?
My guess is pure mathematics: Self-Righteousness+ Spirits +Cellphone = Drunk Dial!
If auntie had lived in the age of cell phones she’d have needed Don Draper from “Mad Men” to grass over the bloody battlefields caused by her unsolicited gifts of olive branches.
©Pat Coakley 2010
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This is a stunning and mysterious image, Pat. And the story of auntie emerging from the kitchen with her rubber gloves and kitty on her head had me laughing out loud. Checking out the cleaning fluids, perhaps?
Mrs. Thomas’ phone call is another reminder of how one’s view of the world can get so distorted as to be fully upside down/inside out. Sad thing is, there are probably millions of people who think Anita Hill really should apologize! Perhaps they are all well into the cleaning fluid.
O, Don, you’d have a laugh a minute in my family. One of my uncles arrived at this same aunt’s house once laid out in the back of a hearse, fully alive of course.
the bottle of citrasolv haha in the middle is really something! like a final word or something. love the image, it’s entirely intricate and eyesome, and the story, wow. fascinating, the exchanges
This is truly a ha ha world when I read news stories like this, Kathi! Honestly, everyone in the public world of commentary is saying the generic, “I can’t explain it…” “I don’t know what got into her,”…c’mon, we’ve all been there, done that and know exactly what happened.
Drinking and dialling is always a great idea at the time. The worst part is waking up the following day and remembering (no, I can’t have, I wouldn’t have, I didn’t!) and cringing as you check your phone to see that yes, you did dial and you certainly know you had a drink. Or five. And then your stomach plummets. NOT a good feeling, but yes, I think you might have hit the nail on the head with your theory on this.
BTW did your aunt ever unwittingly drink cleaning products?
Love the multi-layered imaging your doing at the moment, with the little slide show of the component parts – really clever!
Correction: it’s actually worse when you wake up and DON’T remember, and someone calls to remind you of your clever little call/ text/ e-mail of the night before. Ouch. It’s an excellent reason to go tea-total.
I agree, Epic! Of course, then you have to face the music about all the stupid things you do while sober!
Terrific picture and great story telling, I think you should start writing short stories. Loved the tale of auntie!
Another career to pay me nothing..short story writing! We come from great stock, my dear! We don’t have to be embarrassed by anything we do as it’s all been done before we entered the world.
Great image, Pat!!!! You have this citra solv thing down! ….and you speak of the rest of us and our creativity! I embrace the story of the Aunt. We have had a few in our family, too!