• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Crushing Krisis

Comic Books, Drag Race, & Life in New Zealand

  • DC Guides
    • DC Events
    • DC New 52
    • DC Rebirth
    • Batman Guide
    • The Sandman Universe
  • Marvel Guides
    • Marvel Events
    • Captain America Guide
    • Iron Man Guide
    • Spider-Man Guide (1963-2018)
    • Spider-Man Guide (2018-Present)
    • Thor Guide
    • X-Men Reading Order
  • Indie & Licensed Comics
    • Spawn
    • Star Wars Guide
      • Expanded Universe Comics (2015 – present)
      • Legends Comics (1977 – 2014)
    • Valiant Guides
  • Drag
    • Canada’s Drag Race
    • Drag Race Belgique
    • Drag Race Down Under
    • Drag Race Sverige (Sweden)
    • Drag Race France
    • Drag Race Philippines
    • Dragula
    • RuPaul’s Drag Race
    • RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars
  • Contact!
You are here: Home / Personal / topics / memories / No More Wire Hangers

No More Wire Hangers

November 8, 2006 by krisis

What to say about my mother that is suitable to print in a public forum?

She and my father got married when she was the same age as I am. When she became pregnant just a few months later she decided that she had to learn everything about creating the best environment for a baby. And, I mean everything.

Think about it. It is nineteen eighty one. We are talking about a woman who David Bowie could have had arrested for stalking on more than one occasion. A woman who changed into a white pantsuit at her wedding reciption so she could fly across the ceiling of the club on a trapeeze. She and my father were both professional, fulltime bartenders. She was the only-child of lower-middle class parents, one of whom didn’t even finish grade school. She herself had barely found the interest to get through high school.

All of that just makes my mother’s baby initiative – and really my whole childhood – all the more amazing.

She did not take any aspect of her young motherhood for granted – she questioned everything. And, my mother discovered very quickly that just because something was socially accepted, or scholastically average, or even medically recommended, didn’t mean it was beneficial for a baby Peter.

Example #1 – I was not allowed to eat hotdogs or drink soda, and my father’s side of the family was determined to give me both. One one occasion I was convinced to eat half of a hot dog and – predictably – became sick. I have never seen my mother come so close as to devouring someone’s very soul as I did that night. SHE was the mother, and SHE said NO hotdogs, so THERE WOULD BE NO HOTDOGS.

To this day I don’t drink soda.

Example #2 – In first grade one of my classmates got placed into a mentally gifted program because he was smart. My mother pointed out that I was also smart, but got fed some sort of B.S. in reply about how I didn’t carry my numbers when I did addition in long columns. So, she had me tested in a controlled environment. When they checked my test they informed her that I hadn’t answered a tough word problem correctly. She pointed out that I had, but that I had just skipped showing my work because I used multiplication to solve the problem.

Example #3 – When I started visiting orthodontists to consult over my impending braces, one offhandedly told her he would have to pull out several teeth to make things work. I think she physically picked me up out of his chair to leave the office. I wound up without a single tooth pulled and a perfect smile.

Also, my mother never once patronized me just because I was a child – as soon as I was old enough to carry a conversation was expected to do so in all circumstances, and to make change for myself when we played Monopoly. And, so I did. I used to eschew naptime in kindergarten in favor of chatting about current events with the teachers. I watched the nightly news and Johnny Carson almost every night of my childhood.

In my anecdotes my mother is usually painted as comic relief, sometimes as a foil, and often as as a too-patronizing voice of reason. However, She will still devour your soul if you fuck with her, me, or her cat. She still has frighteningly good taste in music (David Bowie included).

And, much to my continual exasperation, she still questions just about everything.

Filed Under: memories, NaBloPoMo Tagged With: mom

Previous Post: « Trio: Season Five, Suite #2!
Next Post: NaBloPoMo Round-Up #1: #s and As »

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. Crushing Krisis » I Slept On Top of the Sheets… says:
    November 18, 2006 at 10:32 pm

    […] Having introduced the trinity of my love, my mother, and my best friend, my cast of characters now widens considerably (though it stays predominantly female). […]

  2. Crushing Krisis » Plus, He Hangs Out With Santa says:
    November 20, 2006 at 1:02 am

    […] Having no child-skills to speak of, in my limited interactions with wee ones i just do what my mother did – treat them like fully functional small adults who are slightly hard of hearing. I don’t engage in baby-talk, and i don’t engage in little white lies about coal in stockings and Easter Bunnies. […]

Primary Sidebar


Support Crushing Krisis on Patreon
Support CK
on Patreon


Follow me on BlueSky Follow me on Twitter Contact me Watch me on Youtube Subscribe to the CK RSS Feed

About CK

About Crushing Krisis
About My Music
About Your Author
Blog Archive
Comics Blogs Only
Contact Krisis
Terms & Conditions

Crushing Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Events Guide

Spider-Man Guide

DC Comics

  • Most Wanted DC Omnibus - DC Universe Events Omnibus Mapping 2025Every Missing DC Universe Event Omnibus, Mapped | 2025 Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus Poll
    Every missing DC Universe Event omnibus mapping from DC Comics to prepare for the 2025 Tigereyes Most-Wanted DC Omnibus Poll. […]
  • Most Wanted DC Omnibus - DC Villains Joker Omnibus MappingEvery Missing DC Villains Omnibus – Joker, Lex Luthor, Doomsday, & More, Mapped | 2025 Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus Poll
    Missing DC Villains omnibus mapping - Joker, Doomsday, Lex Luthor, & more! - for the 2025 Tigereyes Most-Wanted DC Omnibus Poll. […]
  • Most Wanted DC Omnibus - DC Solo Heroes Q to Z The Spectre Omnibus MappingEvery Missing Question, Zatanna, Spectre Omnibus & More, Mapped | 2025 Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus Poll
    Missing DC Hero Q-Z omnibus mapping - Question, Spectre, Zatana, & more - for the 2025 Tigereyes Most-Wanted DC Omnibus Poll. […]
  • Most Wanted DC Omnibus - DC Solo Heroes F to P Martian Manhunter Omnibus MappingEvery Missing Firestorm, Jonah Hex, Martian Manhunter Omnibus & More, Mapped | 2025 Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus Poll
    Missing DC Hero F-P omnibus mapping - Firestorm, Jonah Hex, Martian Manhunter, & more - for the 2025 Tigereyes Most-Wanted DC Omnibus Poll. […]
  • Most Wanted DC Omnibus - DC Solo Heroes A to E Doctor Fate Omnibus MappingEvery Missing Blue Beetle, Doctor Fate, Deathstroke Omnibus & More, Mapped | 2025 Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus Poll
    Missing DC Hero A-E omnibus mapping - Blue Beetle, Doctor Fate, Deathstroke, & more - for the 2025 Tigereyes Most-Wanted DC Omnibus Poll. […]
  • Most Wanted DC Omnibus - Superman Family Supergirl Omnibus MappingEvery Missing Superman Family Omnibus, Mapped – Superboy, Supergirl, & More! | 2025 Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus Poll
    Every missing Superman Family omnibus mapping - including Supergirl & Superboy - from DC Comics for the 2025 Tigereyes Most-Wanted DC Omnibus Poll. […]
  • Most Wanted DC Omnibus - Superman Omnibus MappingEvery Missing Superman Omnibus, Mapped | 2025 Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus Poll
    Every missing Superman omnibus mapping from DC Comics to prepare for the 2025 Tigereyes Most-Wanted DC Omnibus Poll. […]
  • Every Missing Suicide Squad Omnibus, Mapped – plus, other DC Teams! | 2025 Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus Poll
    Every missing Suicide Squad omnibus - plus other DC teams - mapping from DC Comics for the 2025 Tigereyes Most-Wanted DC Omnibus Poll. […]
  • Most Wanted DC Omnibus - Teen Titans Omnibus Mapping 2025Every Missing Teen Titans Omnibus, Mapped | 2025 Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus Poll
    Every missing Teen Titans omnibus mapping (plus Young Justice) from DC Comics to prepare for the 2025 Tigereyes Most-Wanted DC Omnibus Poll. […]
  • Most Wanted DC Omnibus - Shazam Omnibus Mapping 2025Every Missing Shazam Omnibus, Mapped | 2025 Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus Poll
    Every missing Shazam omnibus mapping from DC Comics to prepare for the 2025 Tigereyes Most-Wanted DC Omnibus Poll. […]
  • Most Wanted DC Omnibus - Legion of Super-Heroes Omnibus Mapping 2025Every Missing Legion of Super-Heroes Omnibus, Mapped | 2025 Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus Poll
    Every missing Legion of Super-Heroes omnibus mapping from DC Comics to prepare for the 2025 Tigereyes Most-Wanted DC Omnibus Poll. […]
  • Most Wanted DC Omnibus - Green Lantern Omnibus Mapping 2025Every Missing Green Lantern Omnibus, Mapped | 2025 Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus Poll
    Every missing Green Lantern omnibus mapping from DC Comics to prepare for the 2025 Tigereyes Most-Wanted DC Omnibus Poll. […]
  • Most Wanted DC Omnibus - Justice Society Omnibus Mapping 2025Every Missing Justice Society Omnibus, Mapped | 2025 Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus Poll
    Every missing Justice Society omnibus mapping from DC Comics to prepare for the 2025 Tigereyes Most-Wanted DC Omnibus Poll. […]
  • Most Wanted DC Omnibus - Justice League Omnibus Mapping 2025Every Missing Justice League Omnibus, Mapped | 2025 Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus Poll
    Every missing Justice League omnibus mapping from DC Comics - plus Trinity team-ups! - for the 2025 Tigereyes Most-Wanted DC Omnibus Poll. […]

Content Copyright ©2000-2023 Krisis Productions

Crushing Krisis participates in affiliate programs including (but not limited to): Amazon Services LLC Associates Program (in the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain), eBay Partner Network, and iTunes Affiliate Program. If you make a qualifying purchase through an affiliate link I may receive a commission.