Chat: SEPT 9, 2023

 

(Rik, Rob, Kathy, Taylor, Dad)

When I was young, I would walk to my father's house every Saturday to get the child support money he owed my mother. I had to walk no matter how far away we lived. I think he was over on 59th and Normal Boulevard and I lived in a place with bedbugs. This was when I was between 10 and 14 years old. Maybe when I was 10 or 11 years old, I would walk over to his house. We always lived in pretty nice places except for that one with bedbugs. I don't know where my mother was getting the money since we had no husband. Her brother lived right next door to us in a nicer apartment. My aunt Dorothy had everything nice and shiny - the chrome chairs and table - but we didn't get invited up there often. My mother may have gotten some support from her brothers, I don't know how she managed with three kids and no husband. But then she married Ron's father, but that only lasted a short time. I remember him when we lived on Stewart and I was going to a different high school. We were on the third floor and she was married to him then. But then he caught her with someone else and decided Ron wasn't his son, even though Ron looked exactly like him. After that, he never sent a nickel in child support. I remember when we lived on Normal Boulevard, my mother told me she was going to get married again and I said we didn't need anybody else - we were getting along just great. So she must have married him then, but I don't know what happened to him after that. He wasn't living with us when I was younger. I remember trying to go to another school after we moved out of the district. My brother and I would take the streetcar and transfer twice with no adults. I was in fourth grade, so about 9 years old. A teacher caught us one day when she was on the streetcar going home. She asked what I was doing and I explained that we had moved but were still going to the old school. My mother said it was that teacher who reported us. So then I had to go to the new school. When we moved again, they let me finish 8th grade at the original school since I had already started, but my brother had to go to another new school. This is similar to what's happening now with migrants in schools. Why don't they change the law so you have to be a US citizen to attend public school? It's open to anybody now, whether you're legal or illegal, and it's paid for with our taxes. That's how it's always been. I don't remember exactly when my mother married Ron's father. I was about 10-14 years old when we lived in the bedbug place, so she may have married him then. But I remember him being there later when we lived on Stewart and I was going to another high school. We had a room in the hallway and my mother had a kitchenette and bedroom on the other side of a door. I don't know what happened after that. He caught my mother with someone else and then left, insisting Ron wasn't his son even though Ron looked just like him. I guess there was no DNA testing back then to prove it. He never paid any child support after that. I tried going to another school when we moved out of the district. I was taking the streetcar with my younger brother when we were caught by a teacher from my old school. She reported us, so I had to go to the new school. Since I was in 8th grade, they let me finish the year at my original school but my brother had to go to a new one again. Now they talk about migrants in schools - why don't they change the law to require you be a citizen? It's open to anyone now, legal or illegal, paid by our taxes. That's how it's always been. When I was little, I loved going to my grandparents' shop and listening to The Lone Ranger on the radio with my grandfather. I would walk there from when I was about 10 years old. We always lived in nice places except that one with bedbugs. I don't know how my mother managed with no husband but three kids. Maybe she got support from her brothers. My mother's brother lived right next door to us in a nicer apartment. My aunt Dorothy had everything nice and spick and span - the chrome chairs and table - but we didn't get invited up there often. When I told my mom I didn't want her to marry again, we were living on Normal Blvd. She must have married Ron's dad around then but I don't know what happened to him after that. He wasn't living with us when I was younger going to another school. I remember Ron's dad being there when we lived on Stewart and I was going to a different high school. We had a room in the hallway and my mom had the kitchen and bedroom on the other side of a door. I don't know what happened after that.

A list of discussion topics

1. Tennis tour in Australia (0:00 - 0:23)
2. Driving in Australia and seeing kangaroos (0:23 - 0:51)
3. Business trip to shoot video in Melbourne (0:51 - 1:03)
4. Layover in Sydney airport and taking train to see sights (1:03 - 2:59)
5. Length of Australia trip and it being a turning point (2:59 - 3:49)
6. Issue with luggage weight limits on flight home (3:49 - 5:57)
7. Friendliness of Australian men and aggressiveness of women (5:57 - 6:43)
8. Almost crashing when driving on wrong side of the road (6:43 - 7:00)
9. Differences in culture by country (7:00 - 7:18)
10. Anxiety now prevents adventurous explorations (7:18 - 7:58)
11. Need for adventurous spirit when young (7:58 - 8:13)
12. Society depending on people following rules (8:13 - 9:28)
13. Smash and grab robberies on the rise (8:50 - 8:55)
14. Lack of consequences enabling lawlessness (9:28 - 11:19)
15. Man gluing himself to floor as protest (9:52 - 10:20)
16. Highway protests and assumption of risk (10:22 - 10:48)
17. Harsher penalties needed to reduce crime (11:19 - 12:09)
18. Subway violence against vulnerable people (16:03 - 16:35)
19. Using decoy squads to catch criminals (16:17 - 17:04)
20. Reading Shogun multiple times to understand layers (22:25 - 23:36)
21. Old woman sacrificing herself in Shogun (23:00 - 23:20)
22. Reading The Fountainhead and Sybil (23:36 - 24:13)
23. Personalities splitting in Sybil (23:52 - 24:15)
24. Only seeing Sybil movie, reading Fountainhead (24:02 - 24:11)
25. Letting man build boat and burning it down in Shogun (24:18 - 24:59)
26. Learning some Japanese words (25:01 - 25:12)