Letters to the Editor
Rowyna
Published Letters: 105 Editor's Choice: 36
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bypassing america
[Read the article: Ask the Pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]In less than a month I'll be visiting my 'home' in the states (have been living in australia for the past 5 years) for the first time in 2 years... and let me tell you, if there was a way I could arrive back in New England without actually flying to the US I would (I know, impossible for entirely obvious reasons). My options are Hawaii and LAX, 2 airports notorious for cranky TSA and customs staff.
I totally sympathise with all the aussies and kiwis are want to avoid the unecessary and totally unplesant expirience of flying anywhere near the US when said country is not their final destination (or hey, even when it is!)
Just a word of warning though - the TSA in Canada (or whatever they're called up there) is just as bad as that in the US (in my expirience). So make sure you pack your maple syrup in the check luggage, cause the fuilds/xray/patdown/shoe removal crap is just as bad there.
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No different from a sports car
[Read the article: Under the knife, into debt]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Taking out a giant loan that you can't really afford to finance something superficial in an attempt to attract the opposite sex.... a guy buying the newest sports car, or a girl getting breast implants? Same thing.
If people want to drive themselves deep into debt for something so stupid, good for them. In 10 years when your car is no longer cool, or your boobs look like silly balloons, I'll be laughing just as hard as I am now.
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more than just politics
[Read the article: How can I love my Republican parents?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Sounds like the problems between the LW and his parents is more than just politics. In some relationships, you can just put these ideological disagreements behind you. My best friend is catholic and vehemently antiabortion... I am pro-choice. We hang out, and we don't talk about abortion or religion. Thats cool - we have a lot of other things to talk about. Like, we talk about movies we went and saw together, or how much we like a certain resturant, or how crap it is that the local dunkin donuts shuts at 11 even though the sign says 12.
I have family who are also staunch republicans, and I hate hanging out with them. They are self-righteous, annoying and generally rather rude. I have nothing in common with them. They do not like the movies I like, they don't listen to the music I listen to, and they probably wouldn't even agree with me about what kind of weather we've been having. It is not their republicanism that is the problem. The fact they're republicans is just an obvious symptom of the fact we don't have anything in common and don't particularly get along.
The LW needs to realise that he's fixated on the republican thing, and as such is getting a lot of flack in the feedback stakes. But really, his question isn't about the fact his parents are republicans so much as it is about how he doesn't much like his parents, and doesn't have much in common with them. If he can't find any common ground, then yeah, it WOULD be painful to go visit.
It is hard to hang out with people who share nothing with you, and who seem to delight in being argumentative. And some people are just jerks - republican or not.
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jeeze Cary, pop some prozac
[Read the article: Should strip-club bachelor parties be men-only?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Wow, a more depressing 'the world is meaningless' answer you couldn't have hoped for. The Bacehlor Party is meaningless, the Wedding is meaningless, your Whole Sad Life is meaningless... get a grip!
Bachelor parties, like weddings, graduations, and funerals are a way of marking an event in your (sad pathetic meaningless) life. As such, I'd say they aren't really meaningless at all. Sometimes they can mean a lot, especially to the mates of the groom. Sometimes they can mean a lot of nothing, if the only reason the groom is having one is because he feels he 'has' to. What's the case here? Who knows.
The LW spends a lot of time worrying about how this 'other woman' will talk about the 'wives' behind their backs. I'd hate to tell her this, but when guys get together for a bachelor party, they don't much talk about their wives. Its a time for them to relive some of the fun stuff they've gotten up to in the past (mostly non-sexual, and involving lots of beer) and basically have a 'big night'. I'm with you that it seems a bit strange that she wants to go, but I wouldn't worry about her talking about you or judging you the way you seem to be judging her. She probably isn't there for the strippers, but then lets be honest, the guys probably aren't there for the stripper either. They're there to mark a turning point in their friend's life... probably with as much booze as possible.