It wasn’t the club scene that was holding us back. It was a feeling, a tingling sense that shouldn’t be ignored and that quite frankly got me out of trouble plenty of times in the past. Because truth is, I loved hanging out where there were people, and whether that was a cafe, a restaurant,…
Tag: conservative mindset
Silesia II – An Interlude on Relationship Dynamics
Then there was the issue of the club. She really wanted to go there because it spelled freedom for one night. That was the main reason she’d asked us along on this trip, more than chipping in for gas. Her husband was tending to their infant, which translated into frantic phone calls from home every…
The Avon Lady is Not The Only One Who Hates Me – a treatise on my relationship with conservative societies
We ran into the Avon Lady again the other day. As always in these cases, I was with her neighbor and – again as always in these cases – we saw her son first. He greeted his neighbor, looked a question at me as though he wasn’t quite sure whether to talk to me or…
The People Watcher Observes a Couple
This particular Nero we are at is an island in a not too busy mall. It’s also the northernmost mall, a concept reflected in its name. Most people are there to take a much needed break from shopping (one of the reasons I loved malls as a child was because of the hustle and bustle…
An Acquaintance Revisited – the Avon Lady Ignores My Existence because I’m not Racist
We ran into the Avon Lady earlier, coming home singing and goofing around despite the cold, and then noticed that someone was at the front door. And since there aren’t that many people in the building (and none that would really be out this late), we cursed under our breaths and walked in with our…
Unraveling the Mystery of the Polish Relatives: wujek Zbyszek part II
I realized that he was more typical of the average, well educated Polish male than atypical: acutely aware of his status and how it affected others in full knowledge of the fact that the woman they’d chosen to bear their children would count her blessings of having landed such a fine specimen of a man, keep her mouth firmly shut and do the best to raise and maintain a family unit lest the neighbors, church and assorted acquaintances, relatives and friends get a chance to list all her shortcomings (and by extension also those of her family), a feat that would happen anyway, regardless of how perfect she aimed to be.
(Im)Perfection in Polish Beauty – the Avon Lady (and her partner)
Her (perceived) youth was her calling card and what kept her alive in society, because it helped her cement her place by showing that despite her divorce and teenage child, she was still able to snag and keep that other most desired commodity – the reason a perfect figure and beauty was needed in the first place – a man by her side, if not for real then at least for the optics.
Christmas Stress and Other Lovely Occurrences – 6 types that stress you out
When I was younger, I didn’t really think about it that much, because Christmas was Christmas and between my neighbor’s mom and mine they had a whole plan cooked up when it came to Christmas Eve. I’d be in my room with my parents, the doorbell would ring and then my mom would announce that…
Unraveling the Mystery of the Polish Relatives: wujek Zbyszek part I
I probably still have some of my mother’s kin living where she last left them. I wouldn’t know because to me they are not family. In fact they are the furthest thing from family a person would wish to have / would / could wish on their arch enemy / enemies to have. This is…
Fulfilling Other People’s Perception(s) of The Countries You Identify With
. . . most people where we lived seemed to be getting their ideas of what a French person was / should be from the German translations of Enid Blyton’s books, and the occasional show with a French person depicted on TV (ironically, a French actor – Pierre Brice – portrayed their national idol, Winnetou, a fictional character brought to life by Karl May who had never set foot anywhere near the Wild West . . .
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