Ever be relaxing with friends and tell a story you think is hilarious only to realize you’ve made a possible social faux pas?

We were in the midst of a marathon beach puzzle telling childhood stories and I mentioned my Dad the “Puzzle Master”.  Just talking about technique and his patience with us kids as we ‘helped’ him.  I busted out in giggles.  ‘What! What!’ ‘Share, share.’  So I did…

My parents relationship was marginal at the best of times.  One day my mom got so frustrated with my dad, she sucked up his puzzle with the vacuum cleaner. 

This puzzle was a 25,000 piece green-on-green behemoth of some Aztec carving covered by moss.  It had taken up residence on the kitchen table, frustrating my mother who had to constantly work around it and Dad in her kitchen.  So one day in a fit of rage, my mother sucked it up with the vacuum cleaner. 

After I told this story, the room was deadly quiet.  I had forgotten to ‘nice up’ the story. The wheels turned, slipped, and as it so often happens, they did it for themselves. The subject was changed and everyone a little relieved, started talking once again.

I’ve spent most of my life a little off the beaten path, very aware that we never really know what goes on in someone else’s head. 

Ciao