As If The Wool Of My Sheepskin Coat Wasn't Already Black Enough....
Whatever will happen if my mostly strict catholic relatives read this and happen to find out what it is I write. Will I be roasting on one of the bbq pits in hell? If I'm lucky, maybe I'll just get demoted to purgatory. Good thing I don't actually believe in either place.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050713/people_nm/pope_harrypotter_dc_2
I don't think my Dad will give a rat's spiney tale one way or the other,--he's the only one that counts. He probably won't even hear about the article, though if he does (most likely from my sister) he may finally figure out why I don't share anything I write with anyone in the family.
Actually, the last time I saw my relatives, I had gone from that overeducated, never married(earned that one before I was 25 assumed to be the result of the first item on the list), born just a wee bit too early to have been conceived during wedlock, left the catholic faith black sheep of a cousin, to famous novelist and nuclear physicist. Amazing what happens when your grandparents die off and your parents start bragging. Of course, now I have to figure out how to live up to the expectations they have set.
Now the worst thing they say to me is "you're what happens when cousins marry." To which I reply, "Yes, I am. Now explain what happened to you."
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050713/people_nm/pope_harrypotter_dc_2
I don't think my Dad will give a rat's spiney tale one way or the other,--he's the only one that counts. He probably won't even hear about the article, though if he does (most likely from my sister) he may finally figure out why I don't share anything I write with anyone in the family.
Actually, the last time I saw my relatives, I had gone from that overeducated, never married(earned that one before I was 25 assumed to be the result of the first item on the list), born just a wee bit too early to have been conceived during wedlock, left the catholic faith black sheep of a cousin, to famous novelist and nuclear physicist. Amazing what happens when your grandparents die off and your parents start bragging. Of course, now I have to figure out how to live up to the expectations they have set.
Now the worst thing they say to me is "you're what happens when cousins marry." To which I reply, "Yes, I am. Now explain what happened to you."
6 Comments:
I too am a lapsed Catholic (I lapsed all the way to atheism), to my very Catholic mother's eternal chagrin.
When I saw the article about the pope's beliefs toward Harry Potter the other day, I couldn't believe what a fucking moron this guy is. I'd heard he was a real hard-liner (I guess you have to be to lead the Inquisition, which is what the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith really is, with a less inflammatory title), but I also heard he was well-educated and smart. Oh, well, so much for that one. I'd like to know if he's actually READ the Potter novels before pontificating (pun intended) on them?
I lapsed all the way to atheism at one time to, but then, much to my father's relief, I bounced back just a little. But I did leave Catholisism behind, regardless.
My guess is that he hasn't read the books. They don't seem to be hurting my nieces at all.
I know that my family, being german, was very happy to hear that we had a german pope. I just hope that his nationality does not cause them to give his opinions any more weight than those of his predecessors.
I've read them all and am looking forward to the next one. Rowling is really a MYSTERY writer who wraps her stories in the tropes of fantasy. And it is very obvious who is good, who is bad, that standing up for the weak and standing by your friends no matter what is something to be admired, etc. All things I would think a Catholic would agree with....
Well said.
I'm actually taking my nieces to a midnight Harry Potter party (for the new book) at the local Barnes and Noble tonight.
Both my parents were raised Roman Catholic, and both became Existentialist.... most of their generation (my mom is one of seven children) left Catholicism, so now we have a nice bimodal between strict, conservative Catholics and vocally liberal athiests, Buddhists, and Unitarians. We also have a nice bimodal between overachievers (MIT chemistry prof, some good corporate job in London) and complete washouts (drugs, gangs, suicide). My dad has been on both sides of that.
I guess I'm lucky to be born recently enough that nobody complains that I'm overeducated or unmarried...
My Dad has been through a lot in his life too. I'm very glad, for my sake, that he managed to find his way out of the darkness. Selfish, I know, but kids are supposed to be selfish when it comes to their parents.
My Dad had 6 sisters, his father came from an even larger family. Not certain about my mother's family, I don't know them, but I know it is a large tangled web, and one I probably don't want to get caught up in.
And my family, just to let you know how Catholic they truly are, brought the Church to Idaho. So, my breaking away from the faith at 16 was a major event. I actually had to face my grandfather and tell him what I was doing and why. He took it very well, but things were never the same between us after that.
Though I'm older than you, I was actually born recently enough that I shouldn't have had to put up with the over educated, unmarried complaints too. The older members of my family were very traditional though. Women simply didn't stray far from the farm. Although, my fathers two youngest sisters did get to go to college--I remember overhearing my grandparents (I think) discussing the fact that if they didn't leave town they would never meet anyone who wasn't a cousin to marry. And, of course, they did marry.
I, on the other hand, am still the family's only unmarried spinster. And it doesn't bother me one bit. :-)
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