As I kick back, enjoying the much warmer weather down here in Austin, I remember how at this time 30 years ago, the six of us celebrated at Grandma’s (Maier) house for what would be the last time. Starting in 1988, my parents stayed in San Diego and I stuck around Milwaukee to make extra money with the part-time jobs I held. Then came the stretch of me going to the movies, I did miss out a few times. This year we couldn’t pull it off today since practically everything was sold out at Alamo Drafthouse; I didn’t plan ahead and Somara actually got the day off.
This is the Christmas stretch that turned me off from the whole family bullshit altogether. Some of it I blame on my self-involvement which is pretty standard at 19. The remainder was just my family’s general unpleasantness in addition to how boring they are. One exception was my grandfather, his curiosity never ceased despite his body not being able to keep up. The one big silver lining was seeing The Princess Bride at a discount theater to combat going stir crazy. This movie went on to become one of my absolute favorites.
Now I have my own pseudo family which is pretty cool. We celebrate before, after and around the holiday. For them I’m grateful, alongside A Christmas Story being shown on TBS for 24 straight hours.