People in your home who make you uncomfortable

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bapo!
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People in your home who make you uncomfortable

Post by bapo! »

I was talking about Soviet stuff in the Alexievich thread, and it reminded me of a story that I don't think I've shared with the Swamp.

A few years ago, I had a painter working in my apartment. He was the chatty type. Asked me a lot of personal questions. What do you do for fun? 'I read a lot.' What do you read? 'Mostly history. Politics. This year I've been reading a lot about Stalin-era Russia.'

He perked up at this, then took off his shirt to show me his a) hammer-and-sickle tattoo and b) his swastika tattoo. Right next to each other. Like we were kindred spirits because I read about Soviet history. I just kind of nodded along, saying, 'Yeah. Nice. Great tattoos.' I had never had a shirtless Nazi in my home, and I didn't know how to respond.

What offended me the most is that Germany and the USSR fought each other in the war. I don't think you can have both tattoos. You need to pick a side.
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sancarlos
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

Post by sancarlos »

Wow. That must have been awkward!

This story pales and sucks in comparison, but I’ll tell it anyway.

Way back in the Stone Age, I bought a condo. Had a guy come in from one of the carpet-cleaning chains. I had cd playing at low volume (that’s how you know it was the Stone Age). After I paid him and he was getting his stuff together to leave, he commented in a friendly way, “That’s really terrible music!” And, then he was gone.
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EnochRoot
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

Post by EnochRoot »

bapo! wrote: Tue Mar 02, 2021 6:40 pm I was talking about Soviet stuff in the Alexievich thread, and it reminded me of a story that I don't think I've shared with the Swamp.

A few years ago, I had a painter working in my apartment. He was the chatty type. Asked me a lot of personal questions. What do you do for fun? 'I read a lot.' What do you read? 'Mostly history. Politics. This year I've been reading a lot about Stalin-era Russia.'

He perked up at this, then took off his shirt to show me his a) hammer-and-sickle tattoo and b) his swastika tattoo. Right next to each other. Like we were kindred spirits because I read about Soviet history. I just kind of nodded along, saying, 'Yeah. Nice. Great tattoos.' I had never had a shirtless Nazi in my home, and I didn't know how to respond.

What offended me the most is that Germany and the USSR fought each other in the war. I don't think you can have both tattoos. You need to pick a side.
Nah. They're both hardcore porn tats for white supremacists.
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

Post by P.D.X. »

For sure he has a gadsden snake somewhere to complete the moronic trifecta.
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bapo!
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

Post by bapo! »

sancarlos wrote: Tue Mar 02, 2021 6:53 pm After I paid him
Wise move on his part. Still a dick thing to do.
Nah. They're both hardcore porn tats for white supremacists.
Yeah, I get that, but they still contradict each other. Thankfully, he didn't ask me any more questions or try to steer the conversation down that road. I try to avoid conflict, and I have no idea how I would have reacted.

I told this story to a friend, and he said it sounded like the opening of the worst porn scene ever.
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mister d
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

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sancarlos wrote: Tue Mar 02, 2021 6:53 pmAfter I paid him and he was getting his stuff together to leave, he commented in a friendly way, “That’s really terrible music!” And, then he was gone.
Any chance you remember the artist?
Johnnie wrote: Sat Sep 10, 2022 8:13 pmOh shit, you just reminded me about toilet paper.
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

Post by sancarlos »

mister d wrote: Tue Mar 02, 2021 7:23 pm
sancarlos wrote: Tue Mar 02, 2021 6:53 pmAfter I paid him and he was getting his stuff together to leave, he commented in a friendly way, “That’s really terrible music!” And, then he was gone.
Any chance you remember the artist?
It was The Jayhawks. “Tomorrow the green Grass”.
Last edited by sancarlos on Tue Mar 02, 2021 8:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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bapo!
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

Post by bapo! »

Did your opinion of The Jayhawks change after that encounter? Or were you even more steadfast in your fandom? 'I'll show that guy! I'll listen to this at moderate volume!'
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

Post by sancarlos »

I still like them. Who cares what some random guy thinks.
"What a bunch of pedantic pricks." - sybian
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bapo!
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

Post by bapo! »

sancarlos wrote: Tue Mar 02, 2021 8:07 pm I still like them. Who cares what some random guy thinks.
I sent Bensell a few Joanna Newsom albums many years ago. He reported that the guy who fixed his cable that day really liked her. Kentucky cable installers have better taste than California carpet cleaners. Fact. (I miss Bensell.)
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

Post by EnochRoot »

Hey look! Ten little kids by the side of the road!

[SLAAAAM]
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sancarlos
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

Post by sancarlos »

bapo! wrote: Tue Mar 02, 2021 8:20 pm
sancarlos wrote: Tue Mar 02, 2021 8:07 pm I still like them. Who cares what some random guy thinks.
I sent Bensell a few Joanna Newsom albums many years ago. He reported that the guy who fixed his cable that day really liked her. Kentucky cable installers have better taste than California carpet cleaners. Fact. (I miss Bensell.)
Yeah. Bensell was a good guy. We've lost him, and Shrew and Unknown. Any others I'm forgetting?
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

Post by sancarlos »

EnochRoot wrote: Tue Mar 02, 2021 8:24 pm Hey look! Ten little kids by the side of the road!

[SLAAAAM]
Yeah, buddy!
"What a bunch of pedantic pricks." - sybian
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

Post by Steve of phpBB »

There was one of those automatic “Happy Birthday” things for Bensell on the board index page a couple weeks ago. Sad.
And his one problem is he didn’t go to Russia that night because he had extracurricular activities, and they froze to death.
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

Post by The Sybian »

sancarlos wrote: Tue Mar 02, 2021 8:40 pm
bapo! wrote: Tue Mar 02, 2021 8:20 pm
sancarlos wrote: Tue Mar 02, 2021 8:07 pm I still like them. Who cares what some random guy thinks.
I sent Bensell a few Joanna Newsom albums many years ago. He reported that the guy who fixed his cable that day really liked her. Kentucky cable installers have better taste than California carpet cleaners. Fact. (I miss Bensell.)
Yeah. Bensell was a good guy. We've lost him, and Shrew and Unknown. Any others I'm forgetting?
I think that's it. Pretty amazing run for... 18 years? We are starting to get to ages where the odds aren't in our favor. We are overdue for a draft. Each player drafts a Swamper, and we get points for the order in which we die. Who's in? Ryan, make a draft board for us!
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EnochRoot
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

Post by EnochRoot »

Yeah I'm going back to school. I'm not ready for the draft.
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

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EnochRoot wrote: Tue Mar 02, 2021 11:01 pm Yeah I'm going back to school. I'm not ready for the draft.
Second that.
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

Post by BSF21 »

Man how the times have changed.

TT's stock really fell. You hate to see it for a guy who worked so hard to get to the top.


(love you buddy!)
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

Post by L-Jam3 »

What's the thing where everyone puts money into a pot, and the last one alive takes it? Like the thing Woodhouse was in with his WWI buddies. We should do that.
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

Post by mister d »

L-Jam3 wrote: Wed Mar 03, 2021 9:21 am What's the thing where everyone puts money into a pot, and the last one alive takes it? Like the thing Woodhouse was in with his WWI buddies. We should do that.
"Hi, I'm The Sybian from a website your husband was on. I'm very sorry for your loss, but I think there's $1,500 in your house that belongs to me now."
Johnnie wrote: Sat Sep 10, 2022 8:13 pmOh shit, you just reminded me about toilet paper.
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

Post by The Sybian »

mister d wrote: Wed Mar 03, 2021 10:09 am
L-Jam3 wrote: Wed Mar 03, 2021 9:21 am What's the thing where everyone puts money into a pot, and the last one alive takes it? Like the thing Woodhouse was in with his WWI buddies. We should do that.
"Hi, I'm The Sybian from a website your husband was on. I'm very sorry for your loss, but I think there's $1,500 in your house that belongs to me now."
Damn, that first sentence would have been the best line when I saw your wife and kids in the ice cream place. Even funnier when I wouldn't have had to explain what a Sybian is.
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Re: People in your home who make you uncomfortable

Post by mister d »

"So its like riding a horse, but like ... different?"
Johnnie wrote: Sat Sep 10, 2022 8:13 pmOh shit, you just reminded me about toilet paper.
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