How's your family different from most?

[west3man]

In what ways do you (or others) think your family is unusual?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's been a while since I've seen this put to the test, but I don't think the men in our family have a problem with kissing their sons and nephews (and vice-versa.)

When I was a kid, I'd kiss my Pops and I still would (if we could stand to be in the same state long enough), even though I'm a grown man. Again, though, I don't know if he still feels like he did when I was a kid. Any displays of affection seem to make him uncomfortable, these days.

So, I guess I should put this stuff in the past tense.

In general, though, we're the kissing-est damned family I've ever seen.

[frankiedetroit]

My family has an annual reunion on 4th of July weekend. Not so unusual.

What is unusual is that several times a year, some of the people in Detroit will drive south on I-75, and some of the people in Ohio will drive north, and they will meet in the middle for what they call Turnpike Reunions.

So I guess we are the reunioningest family...

[Typo Lad]

I have no idea what other families are like. Really.

[west3man]

I have no idea what other families are like. Really.
I didn't realize how open my family was, comparatively speaking, to certain "taboo" topics like sex.

To some degree, I cringe when I think about the things I'd walk up to my mom and start talking about. If I had a sex or sexual question, I just asked her.

The sex discussions weren't such a shock but other simple discussions that I had with my Mom seemed to be odd to other folks. It's hard to think of an example (probably because I took'em for granted). But we've got a pretty decent relationship. I didn't realize how rare that was.

[Typo Lad]

See, my mom was that way too.

I still remember seeing Airplane II and asking "mommy, what does impotent mean?'

[west3man]

See, my mom was that way too.

I still remember seeing Airplane II and asking "mommy, what does impotent mean?'
What'd she say?

[Michael P]

See, my mom was that way too.

I still remember seeing Airplane II and asking "mommy, what does impotent mean?'
"Go ask your father."

[Ta2grrl]

All the women have been arrested for drug possesion except for me??

I think that makes my family special

:D

XXX

[tricksterpup]

I didn't realize how open my family was, comparatively speaking, to certain "taboo" topics like sex.

To some degree, I cringe when I think about the things I'd walk up to my mom and start talking about. If I had a sex or sexual question, I just asked her.

The sex discussions weren't such a shock but other simple discussions that I had with my Mom seemed to be odd to other folks. It's hard to think of an example (probably because I took'em for granted). But we've got a pretty decent relationship. I didn't realize how rare that was.
Yes, but you should never call your mom while in the middle of sex to ask these questions. Your partner may be slightly embarrassed by it.

[Typo Lad]

"It usually means 'powerless' -what exactly are you watching?"

[Dreadstar]

My mother and father both come from very large farm families. My mother had 10 or 11 siblings and my father had 12 or 14. That is correct, I had 20 + 20 (give or take) aunts and uncles. But that's not all. Each of my aunts and uncles had very large families for the most part. I once sat down with my mother and counted up how many first cousins I had. That's FIRST cousins. The number was around 80+. When you get into first cousins once removed and second cousins you start talking in the mid 200's.

[Slam_Bradley]

My parents were married for 40 years. I have two brothers and one sister. None of us have ever been arrested. None of us have ever had a drug problem. My family could have come right out of a 50s tv show. For the real world, we were pretty unusual.

[Mutate]

My parents were evangelical missionaries and at the age of 5 we spent a year in Ivory Coast.

[Grazzt]

My grandmother normally makes chicken at Christmas instead of turkey. But she raises her own chickens and they get REALLY big, so it still easily feeds 10 or 12 people.

[estee]

We actually like each other's company.

Most people I talk to hate their families in some way.

[west3man]

My grandmother normally makes chicken at Christmas instead of turkey. But she raises her own chickens and they get REALLY big, so it still easily feeds 10 or 12 people.Short of starvation, I'd be too wussified to take out a regular-sized chicken, let alone one your grandma had been feedin' super-goobers to.

[Gilda Dent]

My mom was a mail-order bride.

My brother and I had virtually no sibling rivalry growing up, and this continues to this day.

My brother, though a year younger than I, was the protective one.

Until I moved out on my own, I'd never had Turkey for Thanksgiving in my life.

Gilda

[Harlock]

Hmm, my parents, my brother and myself are all still on our first marriage.

[Grazzt]

Short of starvation, I'd be too wussified to take out a regular-sized chicken, let alone one your grandma had been feedin' super-goobers to.

Yeah we're hicks.

Oh, another one, my mother, as a girl, blew away the old family outhouse (no longer in use, fortunately) with a shotgun.

[tricksterpup]

Hmm, my parents, my brother and myself are all still on our first marriage.
Also, when your kids are Bad, dont you make them sleep with snakes?

[Beatnikman]

I'm not sure if this is all that different, but I have an aunt who's made out of styrofoam.

This is Aunt Judi and Aunt Sarah arriving in Honolulu when they moved to Hawaii in the early 80's. Not wanting to check her as baggage, Aunt Judi put roller skates on Aunt Sarah, wheeled her through the airport, and got her a seat of her own on the plane.

http://img330.imageshack.us/img330/1120/auntjudiandsarahsmall2mt.jpg

Aunt Sarah is the one on the left.

[west3man]

Yeah we're hicks.I ain't judgin'.

My mom says my great-grandmother used to freak her out b/c she'd go to the yard, grab one of the chickens by the head, then wring the FUCK out of it right in front of her. Seeing that damned chicken flop around after it was dead must've given my moms Kafka dreams for years.

I'd still like to see that... from a distance.



As far as the shotgun thing, the only gun I've ever fired had blanks in it. Hopefully, that's not portentous.

[MarvelKnight]

My parents hate to love and love to hate each other. My family doesn't hug, we hardly ever say thanks, never show emotion unless someone is dying or might die, and we show our love by yelling. My family is the Hispanic version of white trash. My wife and I met by way of our parents knowing each other, our dads were in prison together and our moms went to the same high school. Both our moms, also were in jail once at the same time, too. My wife and I have a different relationship, we worship each other and we love to show it.

[Grazzt]

I ain't judgin'.

My mom says my great-grandmother used to freak her out b/c she'd go to the yard, grab one of the chickens by the head, then wring the FUCK out of it right in front of her. Seeing that damned chicken flop around after it was dead must've given my moms Kafka dreams for years.

I'd still like to see that... from a distance.

My mom once butchered her own chickens, so I got to see one running around with its head cut off. The sad thing is it almost got away, which would have been really embarassing.

[Joe Grendel]

My father knows how to kill a ballpoint pen, and may have.

There are many times I'd like to.

That count?

[Harlock]

Also, when your kids are Bad, dont you make them sleep with snakes?
That would be viewed as a reward in this house. The kids are fond of the snakes.

[Callie]

My dad trained and still owns a cadaver dog (now retired). Training the dog involves hiding dead flesh about the yard...so for about a year, we had a jar of human remains kept in the top shelf of the fridge (during which I would not eat anything from that same shelf) and a human hand kept in a manila envelope elsewhere (a favorite for show-n-tell with friends :p ). It's now an ongoing joke that if any of us dies, we'll be chopped up and buried about the yard for the dog to find.

[Winslow]

It's kind of sad to say . . .

But I eat dinner almost every night with my wife and kids. From the statistics I've heard, that's actually rare.