Sunday Scribblings: Photograph

The caption for this photograph of my dad might read, " Hey Mary... why is it that when those kids come home for Christmas this d#%@ thunderjug always stops working?"
This picture was captured many years after one taken in the post below. There is a strange curse that has been alive and well at my childhood home that only occurs when the family gathers for a celebration. That must be why I took this funny picture of my dad trying to figure out why the toilet kept running at Thanksgiving. Other times at gatherings a toilet has overflowed. There was also the time the water escaped from the shower at Christmas when RP was home and it flooded down the basement.
The frig Mom owns has this one drawer that for some unknown reason falls out easily. It is also the drawer that holds all the ingredients for holiday entertaining including cheese and dips. As soon as anyone gets close to the kitchen at Christmastime we can hear Mom's sharp words rising above the voices of her favorite soap stars, " Be careful with that drawer if you get out any dip. It falls out easily you know". I seem to always be the one that pulls the drawer out too far. The only problem with that is the process of fixing it. It requires moving a garbage can, a compost bucket,pulling out the frig, avoiding the utensils hung on the wall, and lots of blood, sweat, and teeth gritting.
We have also had kitchen shelves come lose and dump tupperware on people's heads. A few times "decor" on the walls have also fallen on heads during dinner. There is a framed picture in the hall on the way to the bathroom that falls routinely when someone walks by. Mom has figured out she should give up putting real evergreen boughs behind the mirror with the lights in the living room because we spend more time sticking them back up then enjoying them.
The worst disaster I was part of was the day somehow the water didn't go through the coffee basket and into the pot correctly when I made coffee in the morning. It went everywhere else. I was amazed that a water/coffee ground mix could go into the dish towel drawer, flow under the stove, and wind up behind the refrigerator. I think Mom goes into a cold sweat any time I near Mr. Coffee when I am home now.
We appear to be a normal family 90% of the time. It is that 10% that includes all these disasters that keeps the laughter and the memories alive as we gather again at home.
To read other Sunday Scribblings about photograph go here.

Comments

  1. Hmm, there does seem to be a strange poltergeist at work in you family get togethers!

    Funny story (and photo!)

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  2. this was hysterical... i feel like the "ghosts of thanksgivings past" are giving you guys a hard time!!!!!

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  3. This is particularly nostalgic for me since I knew your dad. I can hear him saying $^$#@%^&&*^&^ Thunderjug.

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  4. What shines through this very funny post is a family united by love and laughter. Plumbing has a way of failing just when it's most inconvenient, doesn't it? Shhh! It's a conspiracy!

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  5. The plumbing hiccups are all part of the family celebrations and memories of laughter together. That makes them a good memory.

    Gemma

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  6. Love your family stories, I can almost feel me there amongst ya all...... bugger, thats it, Im the Toilet ghost lol

    x

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  7. A great read with my morning coffee! Thanks! And the photo is priceless :)
    We have a 'cranky' toilet too. When the ground is wet we have to 'flush' it with a bucket of water because it won't flush properly, and it also 'runs by' sometimes. Very annoying!
    We've had that happen to the coffee pot too...the first time at a graduation celebration. Luckily, it missed the dish towel drawer! :)
    Your family memories are great fun to read. The love and laughter shines through.

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  8. Thunder jug! what a hoot! I gotta start calling mine that. When we were young we called it the indoor whirlpool. thunder jug is way better! Your post made me laugh.

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  9. I started chuckling when I saw the pic, then I chuckled audibly when I read the first couple sentences.

    Reminds me of my dad. It's uncanny.

    Their bathroom ALWAYS has troubles at Christmas time, when all of us kids, grandkids, inlaws and outlaws are there.

    Smiling.

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  10. Anonymous5.4.08

    That's a good and fun post! It helps remind me of the little things happening in the house that we should treasure and poke fun at.

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  11. I had the pleasure of living for six gorgeous months in Moscow in the Palouse Empire.

    Thunderjug: what a great word. I'm reading Evelyn Waugh's Men at Arms, in which a Thunderbox figures prominently.

    Best wishes to you.

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  12. Oh my! LOL I found this very sweet and I loved the word "thunderjug." ;) xxoo

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  13. I am amazed how many of you have also had these experiences. I love the Thunderbox phrase.
    MBeach...you could probably just hear my dad saying that! It made me nostagic also.

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  14. I love hearing of the idiosyncracies and oddities of other people's homes. Makes mine seem OK then! I felt right at home there!

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  15. I loved reading about your family, as usual. But your dad's photo was absolutely the very best!
    When one of our daughter, who will remain nameless, comes home we preemptively pull out the toilet plunger. This year I looked up from the Christmas festivities and here came Dave fresh from Target with a brand new, state of the art, decorative, clear handled plunger--unfortunately after the fact.
    Your family rules, however!

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  16. LOL That's a great story. And your parents' toilet reminds me of mine. Practically every time I have any guests over who use it, it quits working. Luckily I've honed my plumbing skills over the last couple of years and now can fix it fairly easily. :-)

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  17. Laughing! Perfection is so hard to find! I've seen this happen a dozen times in my years - always with a different person huddled on 'fix' patrol! Great post!

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  18. the making of memories. Even bad times can bring out tears of laughter at family gatherings.

    We had one this weekend.

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  19. Anonymous7.4.08

    Love the photo, and the memories you shared. Family and laughter..nothing better.

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