mi familia

Stories can sometimes capture the essence of even the most complex human interactions. In the retelling, words can be changed, tone can be adjusted, and the original incident may depart from its reality. But technology can capture what might otherwise slip away: movie cameras, videotapes, and now, social networks. What follows is an unexpurgated exchange with identities obscured. Additional commentary and contexts appears immediately after.

Sister #1
So, I've worried all day that my vision was getting much worse. Just now realized I'm missing a lens from my glasses. What an idiot! Wednesday at 10:47pm via iPhone. Friend TN likes this

Friend ZZ
LOL!!!!!! I love you! :P Wednesday at 10:50pm

Friend JI
That is something I would do Wednesday at 11:30pm

Friend MJF
How much u been drinking??? Lol jk jk Thursday at 2:36am

Big Brother
OMG that sounds just like 200 or more professors that I know. Thursday at 7:06am 


Mother
Didn't you feel a draft on your lensless eye? Dad llost his lens at [Sister #2]'s last week - didn't know it, but I saw a lens on the carpet andd asked whose it was. Eye doctor is closed untill Monday, - luuckily has a second pair. Thursday at 11:59am


Sister #2
It was the heavy lense that Dad lost, so his glasses were pretty crooked while he was here. 3 hours ago

There is a lot happening here and not all can be fully captured in a way that won't exceed the reader's limited attention span.But here are some insights and insides:

1. The comments are from friends and co-workers of Sister #1 ... until Big Brother weighs in. Then once the family lumbers onto the scene, everyone else disappears.
2. Not only does Mother find a way to inflict a slight jab (didn't you…?) but then discloses that Sister #1 shares characteristics with her doddering daddy.
3. Sister #2 supplies the enriching imagery of said father walking around with droopy spectacles, presumably reducing what little correction would offered by the eye behind a heavy lens.

There is a lot happening here and not all can be fully captured in a way that won't exceed the reader's limited attention span.But here are some insights and insides:

1. The comments are from friends and co-workers of Sister #1 ... until Big Brother weighs in. Then once the family lumbers onto the scene, everyone else disappears.
2. Not only does Mother find a way to inflict a slight jab (didn't you…?) but then discloses that Sister #1 shares characteristics with her doddering daddy.
3. Sister #2 supplies the enriching imagery of said father walking around with droopy spectacles, presumably reducing what little correction would offered by the eye behind a heavy lens.

Little Brother is missing from the exchange. For his part, he shared a story of co-workers bringing in favorite Christmas photos from when each was young. Lil Bro had his picture taken seated in front of a Christmas tree weighted down by tinsel and bulky lights. He had good memories of all this. But then a co-worker asked about the packages in the background: "Did your family wrap gifts in newspaper?" Blind to that tradition, the scene was now one of shame. The only shining spot was that being cheap can also appear to be a environmentally-conscious lifestyle. No, there are no transgendering meanderings here. Just uncertain clarity and vision.