Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Sister of Mercy

How do I say this nicely....

I can't imagine ever going on a family vacation with my parents and sisters.

I'm not entirely sure we ever have.  Honestly.

Maybe a day trip to Cedar Point, but that's it.  I think the closest we ever got was going to Florida in 1975, and even then, my oldest sister was on a high school trip to Russia, so it wasn't everyone.

AND it was New Port Ritchey, Florida. Not Metropolis, FL. New Port Ritchie is only the hotbed of excitement if you're the 70 year old moving into the complex where everyone is 80 and up - since you're the young whippersnapper.

Oh yes, our parents took us to Disneyworld....on Easter, where my mother promptly left us, she was so upset with the four of us - the reason being unknown, though I somehow blame my little sister.  How she ever found us again is beyond me - except that we were dressed in matching striped rugby shirts.

Oh, the horror!!!!

So it is beyond me that David Sedaris took a trip to the beach with his sisters, brother and father - as full grown adults.  But it is an excellent essay. 

I don't say that lightly.

His book, Me Talk Pretty One Day, almost had me peeing my pants as I flew from Atlanta to Cleveland 10+ years ago.  Srsly, the people sitting near me must have thought I was insane the way I was laughing.

Dress Yourself Family in Corduroy and Denim was good too (as was Naked and Barrel Fever).  But Sedaris started to lose me on When You are Engulfed in Flames.  I smiled once (once!!) during that reading, and never laughed at all.

To be fair, maybe his last two books were better, but I admittedly didn't run out to buy them and they've just kind of gone by the wayside. I've forgotten about them.

But a few months ago Sedaris wrote another great New Yorker piece on his sisters visiting Hugh (his partner) and him for the holidays.  So, maybe the man is back on track.

This essay that is highlighted above has humour (I'm still laughing at the name choices for a purchased property), but it goes way beyond that, which is partly due to the subject matter.

If you have a few minutes, take a read.



Song by:  Thompson Twins

5 comments:

BosGuy said...

I've never read any of his books. I will admit that I think his cuckoo sister, Amy, is hilarious - although I've only seen a few of her videos on YT and interviews on shows like Letterman.

As for family vacations, I haven't done one in years, but with my brother's move to CA at the end of summer, I can see the potential for the family to head out West together to see him, our sister-in-law and our yet to be born niece.

Erik Rubright said...

Oy, family vacays. We used to do those. And I never understood why. It was nonstop arguing and fighting the entire time.

Unknown said...

David Sedaris is my all time favorite. I agree with you on "Me Talk Pretty One Day." I have everything he has published, got to see him live once, have two books signed by him, and that one is still my absolute favorite. I just got his most recent one, but have not read it yet.

I can only remember once going on a family vacation, but by the time I was 17 both parents were gone and my brother was basically an adult. My grandparents, who I lived with from 14 on, were past their travelling years.

Brettcajun said...

I read the David Sedaris essay and was touched by how well he writes. Hmm... I'll have to check into him.

Mark in DE said...

Like Sedaris, my family also had an annual week's vacation at the beach. Even after my sisters married and began having kids, our family continued to vacation together at the beach every summer. It was something we always looked forward to. Just a different way of being raised I guess.