Trout Fishing and Announcement

My brother Chip and his wife Betty are on their summer fishing trip in Montana. Trout. They always catch their limit. In a text yesterday with Betty, she wrote that the weather was cold and they had only caught two trout and two walleye! By now, they usually are beginning to smoke their catch but it is just not worth the effort until about forty fish are caught. May not happen this year!

Michael’s twin gave him his son's high school graduation announcement. What to do? Several of my blogs have dealt with the twin, how he used me, how his wife didn’t like me and got rid of me within weeks after their wedding 20 odd years ago. I hear that the son and his mom don’t get along well. They fight a lot. I don’t know his son. I met him once at one of William’s concerts. Seemed like a nice kid.

Do graduation announcement carry an expectation for money?

It made me think back to the twin’s relationship with our son. William was pretty much ignored. No interest. No checks. No contact. All that was just fine with me.

It was sadly ironic that when William’s big group became very famous, suddenly the twin wanted a relationship with him. When he suggested to Michael that he and his son join them for dinner, Michael said no. He remembered. He didn’t like the twin’s sudden interest. It felt phony. He didn’t want William to be used the same way I had been for all those years.

So, the announcement is on the bookshelf above the TV. What to do? I will probably let it sit there for a few days. If Michael asks if we should send a check, I might ask if the twin ever sent William a check for anything during his entire life. Would that be mean or rude? Yeah. Probably.

Instead, I’ll probably send a card and a check.