You can choose your friends….

I am taking a break from studying and have just been reading Sven’s blog post and everyone’s comments with regards to his crazy week. It got me thinking about the various family stories that people love to tell. More than just reminiscing, you know the kinds that acutely depict that family member’s unique personality and bring a smile to your face, or make you hose yourself with laughter even though you may have heard the story many times before. I thought it may be an idea for us all to post our favourite family anecdotes here. If you agree, post a comment with a story…

I loved the story about Sven’s dad eating someone else’s toasted sandwich while at a business lunch….that is just hilarious. That makes me think of my own father, an interesting and quirky character himself. My father is a man most people respect and hence make the mistake of always taking seriously. He has a rather weird sense of humour and loves teasing people ( an annoying trait that extends to all the male members of our household). Many years ago, when my brother and I were still in school, my parents took us and a friend of his to Langebaan for a short holiday. On the first night, sitting around the braai, my brother’s friend referred to my father as “Mr Green”. My father insisted he did away with formality and instead call him Henry. The young, impressionable friend then proceeded to call him Henry for the duration of the holiday, which is all fine and well….except that my father’s name is Peter.
Then there is the delightful incident where my father unintentionally insulted a rather rude and rigid Austrian waiter, while we were having dinner in The Cotswolds in the UK. He made some remark about the waiter behaving like a Nazi and I thought all hell was about to break loose. When it came to paying the bill, my mother and I decided it was time to escape to the ladies bathroom. The only problem was that the bathroom was hidden behind a false book case and we got decidedly confused and lost. The whole night was like something out of Faulty Towers….
I think I should get my mom to tell the story of when I tried to cheer her up a few years ago, by taking her out for lunch to Melkbos…it was a journey neither one of us can forget!
And if I get started on stories about my darling eccentric late grandfather – a man who collected toys, considered beer to be a meal, got thrown out of a pub in his late eighties, and sold his own “secret” hair gel recipe to his friends (it was wallpaper glue!); well…you get the picture, we’d be here forever.
Family….you gotta love them.

Tagged as: blog, eccentric, family, father, Langebaan, studying