I have had a foreboding it would come to this. A TV "system" I could not understand and barely turn on.
Today Jon insisted I sit down and learn how to operate his new system. He has replaced all the components. He will not be reinstalling the VCR tape player/recorder. Ever.
There are five remote controls to operate the HD-DVD player, HD up-converter (?), surround system, TV, and I can't remember what the function of the fifth remote control is. Jon wanted to quickly run over how it works over my vocal objections that I MUST write down step by step what he says. "No, it's not that hard", he said. "Let me just show you quickly". I glazed over after the first minute. He refuses to put the VCR player upstairs condemning me to using the downstairs set-up if he installs it there. No, I am not bitter. I am trying to be a good Christian. I am pissed, though. Guys! If he gets hit by a car I will call my kids and say, "take what you want but put back the old stuff!" I counted the buttons (54) on just one of those remotes. There must be 200 or more buttons total on all of them. I think I am like my mom who was lost past "ON" and "Off". We have a 6th remote on the coffee table that operates the new fan on a stand he bought. Really. We do.
All of this mad venting reminded me of my Aunt Elaine who was not known for speaking kindly of her husband. As a kid I remember her grumbling about him. I am including a page from the book I wrote last summer that includes my memories of her and some of my aunts and uncles.
Tomorrow I will plan to repent.
UNCLE IN-LAWS
We were richer for having a large extended family on my mom’s side. It is unfortunate we did not have the same relationship with my dad’s family. We saw them infrequently. Grandpa Carl died before we were born and Grandma Carrie died when I was in first grade. These are some memories I have of mom’s family:
Uncle Ervin was a WW2 vet with a big, booming deep voice and a tattoo of Marcella on his bicep. I was a little intimidated by him. When he drank he would get aggressive with Aunt Marc but he was a friendly, sociable guy the rest of the time. They lived in a house on what used to be the edge of Somerset, about a two block walk from grandpa’s. I remember riding in the backseat of Uncle Erv’s ’56 Chevy station wagon when he went 100 MPH over bumps. The car was full of unrestrained kids. Seatbelts and airbags didn’t exist. Now the irony is, years later it was Uncle Erv who told my brother in-law Mike, “You drive like a teenager” when Mike pulled away from the curb a little fast. He said it with a smile on his face. Uncle Ervin was less intimidating to me after he joined AA and quit drinking. He spent the rest of his life a caring husband and family man.
I thought Uncle Earl was the “black sheep” of the family when I was young. Actually he was more like the missing sheep. He never came to family functions. We saw him if we went to his house but not at any other gatherings. Aunt Elaine was a feisty one and would complain about him in front of us. She once said, “I can’t wait until he dies, I am going to pound big nails all over these walls and hang whatever I want.” They lived in his boyhood home and apparently had some decorating issues. Anyway, we didn’t see much of Earl but got a negative report about him from Aunt El. Earl and my dad were friends in their bachelor days. When dad died we held his memorial service in Stillwater and a teary-eyed Uncle Earl came. He even stayed and ate with the whole family afterwards. A few years later Uncle Earl died. We went to the funeral at St. Anne’s and sat next to people we did not know at the lunch that followed. They were telling wonderful stories about him and saying how they would miss this thoughtful man. Jon and I looked at each other wondering if we were at the right funeral. I visited Aunt Elaine after Earl died and she was still mad at him. Now she was mad at him for dying first and leaving her alone. Maybe the lessons here are to always hear both sides of the story and also to appreciate your man.
My Uncle Don was the “lost sheep” in the family. Aunt Lu was one of three sisters who married on successive Saturdays in June 1941. Mom and Dad were in that bunch. Don Stoner was not great marriage material and left her about a year later when she was pregnant with Jeff. He just vanished. They would find out later he had some problems with the law. She lived her life a Catholic single mom, unable to remarry. In the late1980’s when many were granted annulments from the church, she decided to pursue dissolution. The priest asked to see the divorce decree. She told him she didn’t have one. She had never divorced him. He did some investigating and found out Don had not divorced her either and he was dead. As his long time wife, she was eligible for his pension! One time when a group of us went out to lunch with Aunt Lu, she reached for the check and said, “It’s on your Uncle Don”. I guess justice was served
Today Jon insisted I sit down and learn how to operate his new system. He has replaced all the components. He will not be reinstalling the VCR tape player/recorder. Ever.
There are five remote controls to operate the HD-DVD player, HD up-converter (?), surround system, TV, and I can't remember what the function of the fifth remote control is. Jon wanted to quickly run over how it works over my vocal objections that I MUST write down step by step what he says. "No, it's not that hard", he said. "Let me just show you quickly". I glazed over after the first minute. He refuses to put the VCR player upstairs condemning me to using the downstairs set-up if he installs it there. No, I am not bitter. I am trying to be a good Christian. I am pissed, though. Guys! If he gets hit by a car I will call my kids and say, "take what you want but put back the old stuff!" I counted the buttons (54) on just one of those remotes. There must be 200 or more buttons total on all of them. I think I am like my mom who was lost past "ON" and "Off". We have a 6th remote on the coffee table that operates the new fan on a stand he bought. Really. We do.
All of this mad venting reminded me of my Aunt Elaine who was not known for speaking kindly of her husband. As a kid I remember her grumbling about him. I am including a page from the book I wrote last summer that includes my memories of her and some of my aunts and uncles.
Tomorrow I will plan to repent.
UNCLE IN-LAWS
We were richer for having a large extended family on my mom’s side. It is unfortunate we did not have the same relationship with my dad’s family. We saw them infrequently. Grandpa Carl died before we were born and Grandma Carrie died when I was in first grade. These are some memories I have of mom’s family:
Uncle Ervin was a WW2 vet with a big, booming deep voice and a tattoo of Marcella on his bicep. I was a little intimidated by him. When he drank he would get aggressive with Aunt Marc but he was a friendly, sociable guy the rest of the time. They lived in a house on what used to be the edge of Somerset, about a two block walk from grandpa’s. I remember riding in the backseat of Uncle Erv’s ’56 Chevy station wagon when he went 100 MPH over bumps. The car was full of unrestrained kids. Seatbelts and airbags didn’t exist. Now the irony is, years later it was Uncle Erv who told my brother in-law Mike, “You drive like a teenager” when Mike pulled away from the curb a little fast. He said it with a smile on his face. Uncle Ervin was less intimidating to me after he joined AA and quit drinking. He spent the rest of his life a caring husband and family man.
I thought Uncle Earl was the “black sheep” of the family when I was young. Actually he was more like the missing sheep. He never came to family functions. We saw him if we went to his house but not at any other gatherings. Aunt Elaine was a feisty one and would complain about him in front of us. She once said, “I can’t wait until he dies, I am going to pound big nails all over these walls and hang whatever I want.” They lived in his boyhood home and apparently had some decorating issues. Anyway, we didn’t see much of Earl but got a negative report about him from Aunt El. Earl and my dad were friends in their bachelor days. When dad died we held his memorial service in Stillwater and a teary-eyed Uncle Earl came. He even stayed and ate with the whole family afterwards. A few years later Uncle Earl died. We went to the funeral at St. Anne’s and sat next to people we did not know at the lunch that followed. They were telling wonderful stories about him and saying how they would miss this thoughtful man. Jon and I looked at each other wondering if we were at the right funeral. I visited Aunt Elaine after Earl died and she was still mad at him. Now she was mad at him for dying first and leaving her alone. Maybe the lessons here are to always hear both sides of the story and also to appreciate your man.
My Uncle Don was the “lost sheep” in the family. Aunt Lu was one of three sisters who married on successive Saturdays in June 1941. Mom and Dad were in that bunch. Don Stoner was not great marriage material and left her about a year later when she was pregnant with Jeff. He just vanished. They would find out later he had some problems with the law. She lived her life a Catholic single mom, unable to remarry. In the late1980’s when many were granted annulments from the church, she decided to pursue dissolution. The priest asked to see the divorce decree. She told him she didn’t have one. She had never divorced him. He did some investigating and found out Don had not divorced her either and he was dead. As his long time wife, she was eligible for his pension! One time when a group of us went out to lunch with Aunt Lu, she reached for the check and said, “It’s on your Uncle Don”. I guess justice was served
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