The Holidays Are Here!

I spoke to my sister last night, she lives in San Diego and she always encouraged me to get as far away from my my parents as possible. She always has news of the weird when it comes to my family.

One year I was part of the news of the weird. It was Christmas 2001, I was a senior at The University of Arizona and I was going to NYC to see my family for the holidays. It was going to be odd going back to the city so soon after 9/11 but I was still excited to go. My dad had one request for me before I left: drive up to Phoenix, get his chain saw in the garage at our house there, put it in a box and check it as baggage. Great, a dark haired, dark skinned, young man with a goatee bringing a chain saw onto a transcontinental flight right after the largest terrorist attack in US history. My father insisted that I would be fine. I was, but it was still weird.

This year's first bit of weird holiday news: My mom was on the phone with my sister and she asks, "Do you think you'd like Ham and Turkey for Thanksgiving this year?" My sister replies, "Yeah thats fine I guess, it doesn't really matter to me." My mother proceeds to scream to my father, "Okay Sal, she said yes! Pack the ham in the suitcase!!" My sister said she could hear my dad yelling in the background, "See Anne, what did I tell you? I know what people like!" My parents are packing a ham in their suitcase and they obviously had an argument about it previously...its officially the holiday season.