Confessions Of A Reply Guy
As a GenX-latch-key kid who had to find her own entertainment, replying to any random Twitter post I see seemed fun and harmless. Then I realized I’m an adult.
Growing up as a GenX kid with absentee parents meant I learned to fend for myself early in life, not only in terms of learning basic life skills like feeding myself and my younger siblings, but also in the every day matter of finding ways to amuse myself. The fact that I was a social, curious kid with little compunction meant I’d find myself in all kinds of situations where I didn’t belong.
At the Miller Brewing Company family picnic in Texas I jumped on a boat with a family I’d never met. It was a party and they had a boat, what was the problem? The mother noticed me as we were headed out to sea and did a double take as if to say where did you come from (she probably assumed I was one of her own kids at first, reminiscent of the distracted head-count scene that left Kevin behind in Home Alone,) and with no other choice as the ship had literally sailed, she shrugged and handed me a life vest. I spent the time helping myself to their snacks and enjoying the ride. When we got back to shore I shimmied out of the life vest, gave a merry wave goodbye and ran off to crash the next activity.
While killing time before our own Easter festivities began, I biked past a random house full of people I’d…
