I am, and always have been, intrigued by human behavior. I love people watching! On my first date with Neil, we went to a restaurant and sat at a table in the bar. We played a little game where we observed people at other tables and tried to guess what their situation was.
For example...we saw another young couple at a nearby table. They were surrounded by three other females, chattering busily amongst themselves, while the lone man sat watching a big screen television with his arms crossed. Neil and I decided it was a newly dating couple where the girl had some old college friends in town and wanted to introduce her new beau to them. As he glared at Sportscenter we could tell he was resentful and irritated at being “shown off”. But after a drink or two, he realized he had four beautiful women doting on him and he started to warm up a bit. He started joking and laughing with the group.
Neil and I did this with about four other tables that night. The little exercise was good at taking the “first date” jitters away and entertaining us at the same time. Best first date I’ve ever had.
I am a relative newcomer to this community as it was established about a year before my arrival. And many of the posters had long established relationships before the founding on this board, some from other boards like H20 and others from real life (RL) relationships. I immediately loved having the “connection” on this board with other ex-JWs that understood my history – something I’ve never really experienced before. My childhood was always “different” from ALL of my friends, coworkers, etc. I could explain it, but they would never understand it. So coming here was truly like finding long lost relatives. Similar to my first-date exercise I had with Neil I started mentally capturing some of the personalities on this board. I’d like to share some of my viewpoints of my new family as I’ve pictured them. (Please don’t take offense to any concept of age that I might allude to, as I’m just addressing personality!) Also…if you think of others you’d like to add, please do so.
Daddy Larc – always a gentleman and always making me think outside of my comfort zone. He meets any one of my suitors with a skeptical eye and wary smile, judging character by the firmness of a handshake and whether they treat their own mother with respect and kindness. Occasionally would be caught stealing nibbles of food before dinner or pinching momma on the behind when he didn’t think anyone was watching.
Momma Tina/Valentine – makes great pasta sauces and who is as protective of her cubs as any wild momma bear. Anyone I date is likely to get the third degree upon meeting her, but if they win her over, she’ll love them forever and always insist on them staying for dinner. She’s always comments on how tired I look or how I’m not eating enough. Usually fussing at Daddy when he tries to get fresh with her.
Brother JerryTx/Megadude – the wise older brother who is always sent in to “talk” to me when Daddy and Momma can’t get through to me. He always understands my heart and knows exactly how to get through to me without berating or fussing. Usually has a funny comment about Daddy and Momma to cheer me up and make me laugh.
Sister Bitter Mango – the sweet little sister who was a Daddy’s girl and she always had a smile that could light up a room. She was the youngest in the family; artistic, musical, emotional, a bit spoiled and almost always got her way, but never acted like a brat. Occasionally she would step on my toes (as most little sisters do) but I let her get away with it since she was so cute and lovable and doesn’t have a mean streak in her soul. She is usually hanging out with Cousin PeaceLoveHarmony giggling and wanting to tagalong with all of us older kids.
Gramma MommieDark – the big, loud, mouthy grandmother who had a laugh as big as Texas and loves to give hugs. Her reputation as an excellent cook is rivaled only by Momma Tina’s pasta. But then again Gramma MD taught Momma T everything she knows right? Whenever us kids get out of line, it takes one silent, stoney look from Gramma MD to make us realize we’d better shape up or we’d be meetin’ her in the woodshed pronto.
Grampa Kent – the grumpy wizened old man with a twinkle in his eye. He and Gramma Mommie Dark bicker on a continual basis about nothing at all, but everyone knows their 50 + years together would make the best of couples grouchy. He usually kept a secret flask of “something-somethin” in his coat jacket and complained about how this next generation of kids had “no respect for nothin’”. Sometimes he would be caught snoring in the corner as Gramma MD was busy chattering about her day.
Uncles COMF, Farkel, Amazing and Hillary_Step - father figure types who always have interesting stories and viewpoints that made me think outside my comfort zone. It’s always fun to hear this fabulous foursome share tales of the good (bad?) ol’ days and how things aren’t the same anymore. Typically they do so with a fine Cuban cigar in one hand or glass of scotch or brandy, sharing a dirty joke or two.
Uncle TR – the cool younger uncle who played guitar in a band and flirted with all my girl friends. We always caught him in the basement smoking a joint and swearing us to secrecy. Which we all kept quiet about since he was cute and let us take sips of his beer when our parents weren’t looking.
Cousins Esmerelda, Safe4kids, and Closer2Fine – the cousins that are the same age as me and grew up with me. We share many similar stories and interests, mainly reminiscing of days growing up with our crazy family and old boyfriends we used to date.
Cousins Xena and Venice IT – the wild older cousins who always had the cute boyfriends, perfect bodies, best outfits, and went to the craziest parties. All of us younger girls in the family would envy their beauty, coolness, and sense of adventure. Momma Tina would never let me spend the weekend with them since who knows what kind of trouble I could get into?
Seven006 – Cousin Venice’s new handsome, worldly boyfriend who never seemed to get enough hugs or kisses from his new sweetheart. He loved her short skirts and hard to get games, but it was obvious his cynical heart had been softened by Venice’s touch and sensuality. He was the type to never fall for a woman, but now that he had, he’d fallen hard.
Cousins Naeblis, Valis and OUTLAW – the boy cousins who were always pulling my braids and pinching the girls at family gatherings. Typically they were in cahoots about who could stuff a frog down one of our dresses or throw firecrackers at us. Once we got a bit older, they were the cousins we “kissed” on occasion as we tried to understand the new adolescent roles we were growing into. They typically were ogling over Cousin Xena’s new low-cut blouse or short mini-skirt.
Aunt AGuest – the crazy, lovable aunt who always wore big flowered hats, gloves and kept her pet Pekingnese, Larry, in her purse. We thought she was crazy since she claimed to talk to God and spouted off scriptures whenever someone was having too much fun. Out of a generous heart, she faithfully gave all the children $5 for their birthday every year and tried to teach all of us kids the importance of memorizing scriptures.
Cousin Logical - the misunderstood, lonely and artistic cousin. He was always quiet and kept to himself except for the times he fought with his crazy mother AGuest in the buffet line at family gatherings. He secretly wishes he had another family, but decides to focus on reading poetry in the corner while everyone else is off partying.
I know there are others here that could put on a costume and become a part of my crazy family. If you'd like to share in the fun, go ahead...
Andi -