Letters to the Editor
David L.
Published Letters: 197 Editor's Choice: 9
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Hoarder's delight
[Read the article: My mom's a hoarder]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This is so sad...a lot of my friends (and a couple of family members) have this problem. A lot of this stemmed from their upbringing during the Depression, when they didn't have anything to speak of. So now they over compensate with buying or hoarding everything under the sun. I will say that many older folks in our family do hoard some stuff, but they are quick to pass on these items to their children or friends...so the problem doesn't get too far out of hand. That's why, when a family member gives me something, I take it whether I want it or not...it's one less thing to have to worry about 20-30 years from now.
But for our young Boomer parents, the reason for this stems from a combination of being raised by said Depression-era parents and living in the largest boom in consumer products known to man...one that really hasn't abated much since WWII. Added to this mix are the natural impulses hardwired in our hunter-gatherer brains that we need to hoard stuff to survive leaner times...which worked well in the wild when we were neaderthals, but doesn't really help us much in our disposable society today.
So, if you think about it, we should be lucky that this isn't an even bigger problem than it can be...
Hard to say what to do in this situation. The LW is in a real pickle here, because her dad is still alive and married to this hoarder, so calling a social worker to fix the problem may be a tougher sell...and her dad's not helping the situation by sticking around. If he has that much of a problem with it, he should leave. I have a friend at work who's mom did exactly that...no infidelity, no cheating spouse, no money issues, just left because she couldn't living in a hoarder's environs any more. And he followed her once he was old enough to strike out on his own.
I think Cary's current and old advice is very good here, and it's clear that the LW's mom has some serious issues. I don't know if calling the FD is going to help. I would definitely consider asking the father just how much of a problem this is to him, then see if an arranged visit by the Fire Brigade can be made...the LW's mom seems to be just on the verge of being a fully blown, reclusive hoarder, so maybe a visit by a foreign party (namely the law) will be the necessary wake-up call for her to do something about it, before she loses complete control and the house...then she won't have a damn place to go.
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What a joke...
[Read the article: Air head]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Wow, nice little story about the way things used to be...but spare us from the stroll down Amnesia Lane. Yeah, I remember-when sometimes, but fuck, it was hot as shit every summer in the DFW area growing up...and it hasn't gotten any better, and I've had very few pleasant memories of burning up in the heat.
Just because you are given a free AC unit doesn't mean you have to use the damn thing all the time. Why do people have to live in absolutes?
So, go on writing about remember-when stuff...while your wife from TX is stalking you from behind, waiting for the right moment to clonk you over the head with a Texas-sized mallet...then you'll really have something to write about.
And lastly, for those that chill easily...where a freakin' sweater and thermals or something...the rest of us don't handle the heat as well as you, not unless you want all of us to come to the mall wearing wife-beaters and bikini briefs. Most of humanity shouldn't be caught dead like that in public, so until society's perceptions radically change, do us all a favor and deal with the cold air without infringing on our thermally-challenged bodies.