Tuesday, January 26

A Bit Of A Rant With A Twist

 In mid December I had been at the local phone center in order to pay my phone and internet bills. I patiently waited for my turn to come as there were 3 people in there before me and only one cashier. So, while waiting and because I had just gotten off of a long hard day of work, I sat in one of the chairs provided for just such situations. Finally my turn came up and I gave the cashier my bills and was starting to pull out the amount of cash I needed in order to pay them.

In walks a man, I recognized him immediately. Even if I hadn't turned to look, I would have known who it was by the sound of his steps and his loud booming voice saying "This new cell phone gave me problems as soon as I got across the border!"

You see, this man was my father. He saw me, walked past me, without touching me managed to get me to back up a few steps so he could do his complaining and get his phone re-set up  so that it would work the way it was supposed to when he traveled into the United States for work. I nonchalantly walked around him and leaned onto the counter turning to look at him. He looked over at me with an expression of "I know this person, but not who she is or why I should", you all know the look.

He continued on with his business which took about 20 perhaps 25 minutes while I stood there watching him waiting to be acknowledged. Not once did he apologize for butting in and cutting off my transaction, nor during all that time did he recognize me.

When he was finally done and walked out, I said "By dad" which he apparently did not hear as he just walked out the door without a further word. The cashier had stepped into a back room at that time and hadn't heard me either, but when he came back out, he was full of apologies for the rudeness of some customers. I looked at him and just said "What can you expect from a trucker? They're always the most important people around."

"How did you know he's a trucker?" The cashier asked me.

"Because he's my father and it's kind of hard not knowing what he does for work." I replied.

"He's your father and he didn't know you?" he asked me, completely incredulous.

"Yep!" I snorted, finished paying up and left.

Two weeks later I went to my parents house for their Christmas gathering. Dad came up to me right away, gave me a hug and welcomed me into his home. I kept my mouth shut at that point, I was waiting for everyone to show up and for just the right moment before I asked him how he recognized me when I walked in his door but he couldn't in a business.

Over the next little while everyone showed up that was coming and we all sat down to eat. While we ate dad brought up the subject of his phone and the fact that he had to get his cell service changed once again. He was relating the story in the shop, but not 100% accurately. I let him continue to tell his story and then I corrected him on a point he was trying to make. He looked at me all confused and asked me how I knew that. I just looked at him and asked him if he remembered the woman in a fleece lined jean jacket and gray toque standing beside him watching him for about 20 minutes. He said that yes, she had made him feel very uncomfortable. I asked if he had the feeling that he should have known her and again he answered in the affirmative still not realizing that I was describing myself. Mom looked at him and I could tell that she knew where I was going with this, everyone else  at the table had very confused expressions.

Finally dad asked again how I already knew all of this. Again, without answering, hoping he'd catch on but also hoping that he wouldn't, I asked him a few more questions which he answered still totally ignorant as to how I would know anything about this transaction of his.

After about half an hour of leaving him hanging I noticed more expressions changing from confusion to dawning understanding and decided to let him off the hook. So I said simply "The reason I know all this is because I was the woman standing beside you who you didn't recognize and whom you still couldn't figure out even with all the info I've been feeding you."

My mother looked horrified and all my siblings and in-laws laughed their fool heads off when they finally understood how the joke was on dad. And still dad didn't quite catch on so I got up from the table, put on my jacket and toque and asked him if he could still recognize me for who I am or if my disguise was too good. I was even wearing black pants like I had been on that day. A look of mortification and understanding came upon his face and he actually said sorry for not having realized that it had been me standing there that whole time. Needless to say he didn't apologize for cutting off my business by insisting that he was dealt with first, but that's part of his religious nature, men always come first and always will, all else are of no consequence.

I am still laughing at his stupidity in not realizing what had been going on with that conversation, and quite frankly, I don't think I'll ever let him forget it!

15 comments:

  1. Oh my!

    And you'll be nominating him for Father of the Year Award?

    *snicker*

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  2. Wow! You got him good. Even though it's sad he's that self-involved, you turned it back on him in a funny way. And at a family dinner. This is now family lore and will be passed on for years.

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  3. Hi....Im stopping by from Amy's Awesome Nest. Wow! thats crazy. My grandfather didnt know me once....it upset me alot.

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  4. WOW. it sure took a lot to get him to realize it was you. I wouldn't let him forget either. lol

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  5. THAT is hilarious and I'm so with you on not letting him off the hook.

    But you had a good point. Men with that attitude will never truly get it.

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  6. That's just horrible, Skye! I can't believe he didn't recognize you! I've heard of people getting so wrapped up in what they're doing that they don't notice the other people around them, but this borders on the ridiculous. Condolences!

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  7. Quirkster - ah, yeah, sure...lol. Sorry I couldn't keep up the straight face, I just had to start laughing :D

    Kathcom - with any luck it will be, but somehow I don't imagine my siblings feel about it as I do. I talked to a neighbor earlier today (a friend of one of my brother's) and mentioned this to him. Well apparently after I had left that gathering I was called down by everyone. However it will be family lore between myself and my kiddo's. They all agree that he deserved what I dished up :D

    Denise - welcome here! When my grandfather told me he didn't know me, that I wasn't related to him, that I was to leave and never come back (he has Alzheimer's) it hurt me a lot. However as far as my dad is concerned, all it did was confirm suspicions I've had for years.

    AmyLK - I have to admit, it was fun ;)

    Reffie - You're right, he/they won't, but I still had fun in the process and reliving it is just as much fun :D

    CatLady - Thank you for that, I appreciate it, but really I find the whole situation far too funny to let it actually offend me or upset me in any manner what-so-ever. Besides, it's just him being him, oblivious to the world around him except in how it helps him. He's always been that way and always will be, I learned that at a very young age.

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  8. Denise - I just wanted to return the favor of you coming by for a visit, but unfortunately your blog won't open for me. Would I be wrong in thinking that you are the friend of AmyLK's that is going to be taking care of her son on Thursday after school? If I'm correct I'd like to say that is a really nice thing for you to be doing!

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  9. OUCH! Maybe it's time to take dear old dad to the eye doctor!

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  10. ThinkinFyou - He already wears glasses, perhaps he needs a new eye doctor. 'Cause the one he's got obviously doesn't do him any good :D

    Tattytiara - It's certainly interesting, true. Thanks for stopping by, I like meeting new people :)

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  11. Can anyone translate this into English for me? I can't respond to that which I don't understand. Even the blog accompanying this commenter is written in the same manner.

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  12. Yikes!!! Sounds as if he was blinded by frustration.

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  13. Wow, Skye. How you kept your cool while in the phone center is beyond me. No way, father or not, would I let somebody walk in and cut me off in that manner. It's one thing if they ask, but geeze. So, those of us who sit to pee must walk four steps behind the those that stand to pee. I too have relatives like that, very much a cultural thing with them.

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  14. Me-Me King - First let me welcome you here and thank you for stopping in :) No, he wasn't frustrated and blinded, he knew I was there, just not who I was. He's rather rude and inconsiderate that way, always the most important person in whatever room he's in. He'd be that way even if he were in the same room as the Queen of England that's how self-centered he is!

    Deb - Actually, had it been anybody else I would have made a point of letting him/her know how rude the behavior is and that I was there first. However, I wanted to see just how bad he is in how he treats others when there's no one around that he knows to see it. Besides, I was really curious to find out how long it would take him to recognize me. I don't think it's as much cultural as religious with dad. He's of German descent and I've never met other Germans who behave that way unless they're from the same church. I have to admit, it was a real eye-opening experience to find this out. I always knew he was a different person when mom wasn't around, but I didn't know he went this far when he thought there wasn't anyone who knew him around!

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I've decided to use comment moderation simply because that way, I never miss a new comment on my posts. I'm really quite forgetful and tend to not remember how many comments had been in each post the last time I looked, so please bare with me and my memory lapses :)