Monday, August 26, 2019
Woke up at 7, chatted with Karin in the a.m., then showered and took Neal and Karin to lunch in Redmond. We had crepes and lattes. Went to Susan's to pick up the rental car, chatted briefly with Susan and Jay, then got in the car and headed north to Birch Bay. Traffic in Everett was horrible. Way too many cars. Arrived in Birch Bay by 4:30 p.m. Dad and Sue's house is beautiful. Very nice and peaceful. Dad had gained a few extra pounds since I last saw him and was missing a few front teeth, which Sue mentioned were supposed to be capped a couple of weeks ago. Dad wasn't in any rush because, as he put it, he didn't have to look at himself so he really didn't see the point in fixing them. I must say it was difficult looking in his direction. Maybe Dad is going through a kind of Deliverance phase. We hung out in the back yard at a large table overlooking a patch of forest behind their yard. Very pleasant. Our conversation was fun and lively the first hour or so, then Dad brought up China for some reason and the fact that China cannot be trusted and wants to rule the world. Then he launched into a political attack when he said to me, "How can you not support such a strong leader as Trump?" I was a bit surprised at this, but pointedly said back to him, "Trump is the weakest leader in our lifetime. Would you like to know why?" Dad did not want to know why and spun himself in circles for a few minutes, talking about other GOP propaganda. I brought the conversation back to Trump. "Can I tell you why Trump is so weak?" Nope, Dad didn't want to hear anything negative about his evil twin. Instead, he declared a ceasefire and ended the discussion. I pressed him some more and that antagonized him. Then I said, "Remember, I'm your son, so you're going to get a little Brian Hagan back at you when you go there. You can be proud of the fact that I don't take any guff from anyone." Then I stood up and gave the crazy toothless man a big hug. He liked what I said and for the rest of the evening he was fine. But Sue was traumatized. I learned this the next day. Dinner was Sue's scallop lasagna, salad, and cheesecake for dessert, all excellent. We called it a night by 8:30. I slept in the guest room and watched a little TV before bed. The house is decorated very nicely in contemporary colors and tones. A beautiful house, but not so happy a home, as I learned the next day.
Woke up at 7, chatted with Karin in the a.m., then showered and took Neal and Karin to lunch in Redmond. We had crepes and lattes. Went to Susan's to pick up the rental car, chatted briefly with Susan and Jay, then got in the car and headed north to Birch Bay. Traffic in Everett was horrible. Way too many cars. Arrived in Birch Bay by 4:30 p.m. Dad and Sue's house is beautiful. Very nice and peaceful. Dad had gained a few extra pounds since I last saw him and was missing a few front teeth, which Sue mentioned were supposed to be capped a couple of weeks ago. Dad wasn't in any rush because, as he put it, he didn't have to look at himself so he really didn't see the point in fixing them. I must say it was difficult looking in his direction. Maybe Dad is going through a kind of Deliverance phase. We hung out in the back yard at a large table overlooking a patch of forest behind their yard. Very pleasant. Our conversation was fun and lively the first hour or so, then Dad brought up China for some reason and the fact that China cannot be trusted and wants to rule the world. Then he launched into a political attack when he said to me, "How can you not support such a strong leader as Trump?" I was a bit surprised at this, but pointedly said back to him, "Trump is the weakest leader in our lifetime. Would you like to know why?" Dad did not want to know why and spun himself in circles for a few minutes, talking about other GOP propaganda. I brought the conversation back to Trump. "Can I tell you why Trump is so weak?" Nope, Dad didn't want to hear anything negative about his evil twin. Instead, he declared a ceasefire and ended the discussion. I pressed him some more and that antagonized him. Then I said, "Remember, I'm your son, so you're going to get a little Brian Hagan back at you when you go there. You can be proud of the fact that I don't take any guff from anyone." Then I stood up and gave the crazy toothless man a big hug. He liked what I said and for the rest of the evening he was fine. But Sue was traumatized. I learned this the next day. Dinner was Sue's scallop lasagna, salad, and cheesecake for dessert, all excellent. We called it a night by 8:30. I slept in the guest room and watched a little TV before bed. The house is decorated very nicely in contemporary colors and tones. A beautiful house, but not so happy a home, as I learned the next day.
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