Because he is living in a political echo chamber rather than engaging his brain. But I know how tough this is -- my beloved dad got very racist when he got older. It tore me up.

Take your adorable kitty to the vet. And take deep breaths. You are in fact terrific.

Oh Stew, sorry to hear about your day. :-(

Make sure and breathe. Is kitty okay?

I don't know if she's OK. I'm feeling a little better now because I slept, but MAN. Thanks for letting me vent.

Sometimes kitties Just Don't Wanna. Especially when you really need to pet a kitty. She's certainly susceptible to the emotional turmoil going on.

Your home is your sanctuary and while your dad is Your Dad, he is also your guest. Apart from the bizarre ideas he's subscribed to, what has become of his guest manners? If you don't want to dig into the wrongheaded stuff, you can certainly express grave disappointment about why on earth he'd choose to poison a nice visit by bringing up such contentious topics.

I'm sorry. It's like a pod person transformation with aging parents sometimes.

Kitty checks out OK. I love her vet. He gave her some meloxicam to take for the next few days to wait and watch. She was not really happy to be there, though. As you can see below.

This morning I got up, dad and stepmom got up, nothing was said, and they were gone within an hour on their way up to see another child.

Today I had therapy first thing and then a day chock full of meetings and other planned activities so I am slowing down for the first time right now. The moment is past.


≡ Click to see image ≡

Be good to yourself and your kitty now that the shitty is over. Hugs.

Seriously, chocolate and possibly pie as well.

Also OMG SHE'S TEENSY

My Dad and I got along much better once I decided politics and religion (and Michigan football) were off limits. Sometimes people are just cranky and venting their own frustrations, and it may not be how they really feel when they're calm and give it some thought. Though Fox news makes me cry.

My 86 yr old father recently pontificated "americans are stupid". On account of the success of Trump. And the demise of the US middle class. And guns. And ...
So of course I defended your honour.

...I said you're really friendly though.

Tell your father I burst into tears at his harsh remarks. :P

He emailed me today and didn't mention a thing. I'm gonna chalk it up to making the mistake of engaging him (it was our primary day).

Problem is that my work, my identity, my every being is social justice and equity. So he will also say he is so proud of me and that the reproductive health work I do is so so very important. Bleh.

LeppardMessiah: her name is Tiny! She isn't actually all that small. She's 11 lbs, and is overweight at that weight.

Pips. Go Blue? (said tentatively) I grew up singing The Victors.

My parents are gone but my Father-in-law is a retired high-ranking military officer who you'd think would be very conservative but he's practically become a socialist in his old age. He's a big fan of Rachael Maddow and thinks Obama is one of the best presidents in history. OK, maybe that's not quite socialist but pretty good for an 80 year old devout catholic retired colonel.

Ha JanetLand I should have thought of saying that. Of course you can't get more incrowd wrt my parents than being someone who goes to the opera. :-)

Actually my father is well informed. He reads the NRC newspaper assiduously.
I don't follow politics that well. So when I'm home I can discuss Syria with him and learn something about Putins motives.
My theory is that this kind of curmudgeonliness is the result of the shrunken world of retired men. They don't have as much interaction with the world to add nuance to their judgement. And following the news takes a much much bigger part of their time than f.i. with people who're working and have in house children. While at the same time their influence on the world has shrunk to zero.
Come to think of it; there's also a Cassandra effect at play. Old people have felt the personal effects of political upheaval a lot of times in their lives. I guess it's emotionally tempting to want to ward off these great swings of society. Even if intellectually one knows it's foolish.

Am I crazy? I don't see a cat in that picture other than in the ads.

She is hiding herself and her overweightness behind the rabies ad. Look at the photo on the right in the middle, then look leftward and you will see her.

amro, I was wondering, too-- ah, I see her now-- peek-a-boo-- : )

Stewie, Go Blue, indeed! I have fond memories of football Saturdays with my father and two brothers (we all went to UM) and corned beef on rye (though sometimes my mom and I went to the mall)-- but the days of Bo Scembechler were holy days, indeed-- in fact, my brothers were discussing the upcoming season back in '98 at the rehab center on our pop's very last day.

That pic is great. The cat is like, trying to camouflage herself by hiding behind images of cats that incidentally look a lot like her.

Pips I grew up in GR, and we had season tickets. Late 70s through early 80s. Did you ever see Woody Hayes toilet paper? We had it!

And thanks, everyone.

Pips and Stewie, were the fairy doors in AA when you were there?

I was little. I haven't spent any time there as an adult.

brujita-- Fairy doors? Not aware of them-- curious, though-- I googled them, and now I want one! Says the first one appeared in 1993, and I graduated in '89.

Stewie-- I always thought the TP should be Ohio State. ; )

My father used to consider moving to Ann Arbor. He went most years for alumni meetings (he was a big fund raiser and district rep. for the university and won a Distinguished Alumni medal) and football (50 yard line with him, end zone without). I visited once when my niece was an undergraduate, but it's not the same when you're not a student. I could kill for a Blimpy burger, though.