Letters to the Editor
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"Struggling" being the operative word here. Okay, I'm done now.
--Olier
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Does Sam Get a Cut?
Some people are saying Sam should pay for the tire or go without, and that she's providing insurance and a car for him.
Let's get something straight: She isn't paying for his insurance. By making her money off of chronicling his life, Sam pays the insurance and probably bought not just the tire but the car to boot. And pays the rent/gas/electric/phone bills.
He clears everything she publishes? Look at her control issues. What happens to the kid when he says no and so mamma can't make a living? Bet that's a real pleasant week in the Lamott residence. Plus, I guess he gets to hear how they won't be eating soon if she can't produce copy.
I know I've already posted, but I can't get over how twisted this article is. He gets to be grounded. She gets to go to Salon and share her side of the story with millions. All this babbling about Jesus and then slapping him, then babbling again. It sounds like Margaret White from Carrie. And somehow, she's the victim? And calling up the preacher. I keep thinking about Ned Flanders with Rev. Lovejoy on speed-dial. What is that poor man of God she's harrassing thinking about all this—knowing any/all that he says may go in some book or article?
And I know this may sound odd, but what does the accompanying photo tell us? Usually with a leading story, there's some art work or collage of images, centered around the theme. The theme here is this supposed distance and pain between two people, but the photo is of a woman smiling. What for? Maybe all the way to the bank?
What are the chances that whatever she was paid for this article will go into a fund for Sam's college education? I hope it will, at any rate. What percent of the profits from her books will go to Sam, who's giving her the material from which she makes her living? If the answer is "nothing" please at least let her have been using a pseudonym for him all this time. Otherwise, it's like Garp and Jenny Fields.
I wonder will she ever go up to him and say "I promised I'd never write about private things. I've betrayed that. I misused my power to get published in order to get revenge on you. I'm sorry."
I never heard of this woman until this article. I wish I never had. The whole thing creeps me out.
For once, I really hope someone is pulling a James Frey. I don't want to think this is Sam's reality.
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Oliver
"See, jeez, 'cause I turned out okay, and my mom didn't have to spank me or slap me across the face, and yet I gave her ample provocation."
Your definition of "turned out okay" and mine are probably very different.
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You people need to lay off
1) Lamott obviously just lived something very difficult, and if i remember myself correctly at 17, i was pretty horrible too, and said mean things to my parents and snuck out etc. etc. Most of you who are being mean to her are people who don't have children, especially teenagers. But please, try to remember what kind of assholes you were when you were 17. Perhaps he without sin when he was 17 can criticize Lamott first.
2) The Slap: Yeah, it surprised me, but that's because this is America, pal. Where there is no slapping or anything like that. If you were raised in the US by foreigner parents, or of you grew up outside of this country completely, you are much more likely to have been spanked, etc., and so one single slap in a moment of incredibly frustration is not so bad, people. I can't believe she went for 17 whole years before slapping him. It's pretty admirable. It means she's good parent, not a bad one.
3) Jesus - yeah, i'm with most of you on how annoying it is that she brings up Jesus.
4) The Christian Patriarchy -- You know why women keep bringing it up? Because it's there, dumbass! More generally, i imagine it's pretty scary to watch a little boy that you carried for 9 months to transform into a man who can really beat you up. I would be pretty terrified too. In case you're not aware, angry volatile men can be really scary.
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care less ness
It's "COULDN'T careless", not "could care less"
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A picture of the future...and it is not pretty
Anne Lamott's story hit home. She paints a picture of a future that I'm dreading. My son is six years old, a kindergartener, a sweet, intense, passionate boy. He loves Star Wars and cowboys and soccer. "Mommy look," he shouts, eager to make sure I observe his every action.
In the morning, he wakes early and comes in for a cuddle. Sure, there are mornings when I'd rather not be awakened, but I know I'll sleep late once again. Some day in the future.
Now, I ease into my day feeling his thin, wiry body pressed up against my back. It's as if he wants to physically connect with me in some primordial way. I love it. I love it in part because I know it's temporary, that some day all too soon, he'll grow into a teenager and hate me. That's what teenagers do in America, hate their parents. I'm dreading it.
So now, I cherish the moments when he sits on my lap. I love sprawling on the couch with him to watch movies. I love when he, unbidden, takes my hand in his when we cross a street. I treasure these gestures because I know these are things he will soon outgrow. A time will come when I will not have a beautiful child clamoring to sit on my lap. I'll have a teenager instead.
Good luck Anne.
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What a Country
While most of us have to pay for our psychotherapy, Anne gets paid for it. Could somebody please tell this woman to go seek counseling from a licensed professional instead of inflicting her problems on the Salon readership?
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Give Sam a Byline!
The car privileges should be dependant on his ability to pay his own insurance and gas bill. He should earn this money through a job he finds on his own, that his not connected in anyway to his mother.
Salon, I have an idea. Let Sam have his turn. I'm sure we'd all love to hear what he thinks.