tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post863535569477887153..comments2023-09-10T06:49:28.959-04:00Comments on The Unbearable Banishment: A powder keg with a lit fuse in my basementThe Unbearable Banishmenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05704208968630911021noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-72806271961356595562013-04-04T20:59:39.509-04:002013-04-04T20:59:39.509-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Neta Hagiladihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11188311773973899599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-52941599502189708302013-01-31T20:53:13.718-05:002013-01-31T20:53:13.718-05:00Definitely keep them. I've said as much befor...Definitely keep them. I've said as much before. We all have embarrassing tales to recall. Speaking as one who has a stack of journals that is maybe a slightly smaller stack than the one I see here.<br /><br />Been a while. Always loved reading your posts.Comma Chaserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12414730895553197959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-11929287695009680072013-01-30T20:02:55.219-05:002013-01-30T20:02:55.219-05:00Starting all your scentences with a small case let...Starting all your scentences with a small case letter is a bigger gaffe. And what about my comma issues? You haven't addressed those yet. The Unbearable Banishmenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05704208968630911021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-65506022820806179112013-01-30T11:51:50.628-05:002013-01-30T11:51:50.628-05:00maybe you should sort out you're apostrophe is...maybe you should sort out you're apostrophe issues first.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-68830111701437951412013-01-28T14:15:07.793-05:002013-01-28T14:15:07.793-05:00Tragically, everything that's written out is i...Tragically, everything that's written out is in nice, legible, block print letters. I'm very neat! As for the typed pages...well...there's no hope for illegibility there. The Unbearable Banishmenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05704208968630911021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-82699657642732707572013-01-28T14:00:14.028-05:002013-01-28T14:00:14.028-05:00I'm so happy all my old journal writing was do...I'm so happy all my old journal writing was done by hand, and no one, absolutely no one, is able to read my handwriting, buwhahaha<br />I completely understand being stuck between nostalgia and embarrassment on thisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-34841367279924691062013-01-28T13:06:46.483-05:002013-01-28T13:06:46.483-05:00Or, I can feed you to the dog. I'd dust your f...Or, I can feed you to the dog. I'd dust your forearm with curry powder to enliven you're tasteless flesh. The Unbearable Banishmenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05704208968630911021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-66490111115769371622013-01-28T12:35:23.327-05:002013-01-28T12:35:23.327-05:00feed them to the dogfeed them to the dogAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-63545953113412619762013-01-27T11:21:53.411-05:002013-01-27T11:21:53.411-05:00I'm beginning to like the idea of a safety dep...I'm beginning to like the idea of a safety deposit box. Keeping them off grounds might provide the peace of mind I'm looking for. I remember I buried a filled journal once in the woods for safe keeping but I could never find it again. That wasn't so smart.The Unbearable Banishmenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05704208968630911021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-23974776477693858572013-01-27T11:18:35.578-05:002013-01-27T11:18:35.578-05:00I'm afraid that what's precious to me migh...I'm afraid that what's precious to me might be a image-altering laugh-fest for my daughters. As I've said above, I don't even want my wife to see this stuff, even though she is already well aware of how demented and damaged I am. History or reputation? Which is more important?The Unbearable Banishmenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05704208968630911021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-41487609435483474182013-01-27T11:16:56.300-05:002013-01-27T11:16:56.300-05:00In all that time did you ever go back and read all...In all that time did you ever go back and read all that old stuff? I always think I'm going to but can't imagine having the time to actually sit and weed through it all. Most of it is quite dull and doesn't have value. To destroy or not destroy? That is the question. The Unbearable Banishmenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05704208968630911021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-59407051674081615382013-01-27T08:11:11.294-05:002013-01-27T08:11:11.294-05:00I agree with the commenters here, put them into a ...I agree with the commenters here, put them into a locked box/trunk of some kind and stash them where only you know where they are.G. B. Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09783331838434598963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-43832538005064148842013-01-27T02:05:55.456-05:002013-01-27T02:05:55.456-05:00You must NOT Throw them away. Put them in a storag...You must NOT Throw them away. Put them in a storage unit or somewhere safe so that you can re-read them, whenever. Joan Didion is right. Maybe give the key to that storage place to someone you trust, and ask them to give them to your kids after your death, and/or when they are 30! It is your History, and, it is precious! OldLady Of The Hillshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02458879772193114892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-67517422624200033532013-01-26T20:13:12.224-05:002013-01-26T20:13:12.224-05:00an endless dilemma. i had a stack of this sort of...an endless dilemma. i had a stack of this sort of journal too which i kept for years. recently with all the deaths in the family though i really had to ask that question. Do I want my son to read this. I have been a writer in the past so have a published novel (Viking), a non fiction book and soon a chapbook of poems etc. I decided these formally published writings are enough to leave to posterity. Finally, at age 67, it took me that long, I destroyed my journals except for the last few years worth.sukipoethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09351851210507048174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-16718078166404663212013-01-26T14:14:44.418-05:002013-01-26T14:14:44.418-05:00bring'em on down, sugar! maybe we can get dais...bring'em on down, sugar! maybe we can get daisy here at the same time for a drink or 20! xoxoxosavannahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04310843901371718758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-74902865301792677372013-01-26T13:06:42.683-05:002013-01-26T13:06:42.683-05:00I can't get past the thought of my two girls r...I can't get past the thought of my two girls reading this stuff. I don't even want my wife to read it! That's probably why I'd make such a lousy writer. You have to be willing to put it all out there in order for it to be worthwhile. Have you ever read a book by David Sedaris? His early ones, especially, expose all his family's kookiness. That's what makes it so entertaining.The Unbearable Banishmenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05704208968630911021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-64279789938424362832013-01-26T10:12:48.867-05:002013-01-26T10:12:48.867-05:00i still have a box of my writings - pretty deprave...i still have a box of my writings - pretty depraved stuff for a 16 year old trailer park girl. can't throw them out. when my daughter was that age, i went back through a few of them to get my head back where it lives when you are a 16 year old girl. it helped.<br /><br />i won't throw mine out either. you keep them? your daughters will eventually read them. and when they are adults? what's the harm in knowing you you were/are? these things are our building blocks. be real. let them know you someday.daisyfaehttp://daisyfae.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-53087605860331348672013-01-25T21:52:21.108-05:002013-01-25T21:52:21.108-05:00Well, that settles it. I'm throwing them in th...Well, that settles it. I'm throwing them in the back of the Toyota and bringing them to GA. You can't babysit them for a couple of decades. But no peeking! The Unbearable Banishmenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05704208968630911021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-818761507505600732013-01-25T21:50:09.046-05:002013-01-25T21:50:09.046-05:00These are excellent points. I think this post, lik...These are excellent points. I think this post, like the one I wrote previously, is a veiled requests to be talked out of destroying them. You're correct. I don't want to be rid of them. I think it might amuse me to read of my own father's conquests and failures. I'm not so sure it's what I want for my daughters, though. The Unbearable Banishmenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05704208968630911021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-88907522893838079122013-01-25T19:47:51.657-05:002013-01-25T19:47:51.657-05:00I wonder. Stories, poems, songs, all gone.
But lo...I wonder. Stories, poems, songs, all gone. <br />But looking back, at the time it was them or me. <br />So no, it was not a mistake. :¬)mapstewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07159592046833798019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-76821848653893739462013-01-25T19:43:09.251-05:002013-01-25T19:43:09.251-05:00do not throw them away. that's all i have, sug...do not throw them away. that's all i have, sugar. at some point as your girls grow up they will find out damn near everything about you that you never wanted them to know! bottomline? it won't matter one bit! <i>trust me on this one key thing.</i> xoxoxoxoxsavannahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04310843901371718758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-63756832240426861412013-01-25T16:43:39.342-05:002013-01-25T16:43:39.342-05:00That you are asking yourself if you would regret t...That you are asking yourself if you would regret trashing them means that you would definitely regret it. But I think you already know that.<br /><br />The harder you try to hide them, the more likely it is that they'll be found. Could your parents effectively hide anything from you? Mine couldn't. "Hide" them in plain sight - stick a big label on the end of the box that says, "TAXES 1990-2000" No kid on earth would ever open that.<br /><br />Maybe you need some objective perspective on your daughters eventually reading it. It's really a gift, that writing, one that most of us will never receive. A vivid picture of a parent as a real person, with real insecurities, mistakes, idiocy...who wouldn't love to have that?<br /><br />Do you want to sit around the kitchen table with them while they read it in 20 years? No. But of everything you leave them after you're gone, I would wager that box would be the thing they treasure more than anything.<br /><br />Something to think about, anyway.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-14078785084194046232013-01-25T16:22:33.511-05:002013-01-25T16:22:33.511-05:00To be perfectly frank, there are many painful epis...To be perfectly frank, there are many painful episodes within that I don't need to relive. I'd be protecting myself from that, as well. Do you know what would be really special? If someone offered me a big pile of cash for these scribblings. Then they'd be off my hands and they'd not have been destroyed. The perfect solution.The Unbearable Banishmenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05704208968630911021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-3350467823542370812013-01-25T15:52:23.045-05:002013-01-25T15:52:23.045-05:00That's what I want to avoid if at all possible...That's what I want to avoid if at all possible. Regret. I've got a few of those—all discussed <i>ad nauseam</i> within those pages—and I don't need to compound my mistakes. But the fear you had was a rational one.The Unbearable Banishmenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05704208968630911021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4341308729189935273.post-13943971623522571632013-01-25T15:48:17.874-05:002013-01-25T15:48:17.874-05:00I think you know what I'd say...KEEP THEM! In ...I think you know what I'd say...KEEP THEM! In a locked fireproof cabinet.<br />I trashed a lot of my early stuff and have no regrets about most of it. But there were some things I should have kept.Too late now, but I thought, when I was 30 something and starting on a new page ( odd metaphor, that!)that there were painful reminders and I lit the match.<br />I was a fool!<br />As to your children reading them, when they are adults...that's something you can decide on, years down the track.For now, enjoy being a happy daddy.dinahmowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00052642938090553088noreply@blogger.com