The Boston Trip

One morning in January of 1971 dad, Lillan, Karina and I squeezed into the '68 Barracuda convertible (with our luggage) and headed from New York to Boston for the weekend... I remember the drive quite well because it was the first time I had ever been to Connecticut or Massachusetts - and for a couple of other reasons too.

First: Dad and I "got into it" over how fast his 2-bbl 318 Barracuda accelerated. He was of the opinion that it was really quick. I disagreed, having recently ridden in cars like a 68 Hemi GTX and a highly modified 427 Vette. By comparison the Barracuda was a dog.
The argument got to the point where dad threatened to drop the "women folk" off at a rest stop and show me just how quick it was. (I assume the intent was to go back and pick them up afterward.) That's when I dropped the subject...

Aside: What is up with the use of "righteous indignation" to deflect criticism and/or win arguments? I've observed that people in positions of power do it all the time (especially when they are clearly wrong) and it is surprisingly effective...

Next: At one point we ended up behind an old man wearing a hat driving slowly in the left lane. (I no longer recall if the vehicle in question was a Buick or not.) Dad could have gone around on the right but chose instead to tailgate him while blinking his high beams. The guy eventually got over and dad pulled up beside him honking his horn and making "you're crazy" gestures while ranting about old men wearing hats while driving. He was of the opinion that it caused their brains to overheat... Although I do feel that dad seriously overreacted, I completely agree with the sentiment... So - just in case anyone was wondering - that's where I got it from :-)

Now - the stated purpose of the trip was to visit a friend. But I think there was a secondary motive. Dad mentioned a number of times that the friend in question held a highly influential position on the Harvard admissions board... More on than later. (Haha. I said moron...)

We arrived in the late afternoon. The house we were visiting was a magnificent old place on a large piece of property with a private ice skating rink out back. The guy was in his 60's and his wife was in her late 30's (about the same age difference as dad and Lillan) and they were childless. (Thank goodness.)

I remember that the guy (I think his name was Hal) asked me a bunch of questions about my educational background. (Which I think was the purpose of our visit.) ... I recall telling him that my high school GPA was 2.5 and I hadn't really applied myself... He was unimpressed... And after a bit of back and forth he finally said:
"So... Why aren't you in Vietnam???"
My initial impulse was to kick him in the nuts, but I figured that might be considered impolite. So I just explained that I was barely 17 and left it at that :-)

Eventually we had dinner, and afterward there were cocktails and conversation... I have to say that the man's wife was one messed up lady. She had been raised by her father and after a couple of drinks that's all she wanted to talk about. No matter what the topic was she'd end up saying something about how it was with her and her father...

So after suffering through a couple of hours of "daddy issues" it was time for Karina and I to leave... Yes - dad and Lillan were spending the night but we weren't invited. So dad dropped us off at a motel - I think it was was the Quality Inn in Lexington... Now - that was totally fine with me because it got us away from "daddy's girl" and gave us a chance to compare notes on the day's festivities... But Karina was really upset about it. The fact that dad had no qualms about staying somewhere his children weren't welcome just reinforced the sense that we weren't a very important part of his life...

Aside: To be perfectly honest, I stopped expecting much from dad when I was 9 or 10 years old, but I don't think Karina ever did...

So - I think I've covered everything relevant from that weekend except for one final incident:
On the drive back to New York we stopped to eat at a restaurant in Sturbridge and there was a woman there with curlers in her hair... Dad and Lillan immediately started in about how they couldn't believe she was wearing curlers in public - how rude and impolite it was. They were like - "How dare she???"
I was absolutely mystified by there reaction... Finally, I just couldn't take any more and asked: "Why exactly do her curlers bother you that much???"
Their answer was something like: "Oh, no! It doesn't bother US at all! ... We're not like that! ... We're just concerned about everyone else in the restaurant! ... It's disrespectful to them!"...

Well - I looked around the restaurant (which was quite crowded at the time) and I'm certain there wasn't a single other person who noticed the curlers... But it was pointless to argue so I just rolled my eyes and dropped the subject...

I think the reason I remembered that incident so well is that they actually believed that they weren't being judgmental snobs... Yeah - dad and Lillan (and my mom) possessed many admirable characteristics, but self-awareness was not among them :-)