IT TAKES TWO SIDES

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As the saying goes: “It takes two sides to…” and you fill in the blank.

When I was growing up in Brooklyn, IF I did something my folks didn’t like, my mother would say to my father: “That’s your side of the family, HE takes after you!”

If I did something good, Mom would say: “WHAT HAPPENED?” She would never admit that I even remotely took after her side.

Then she would say that I looked like her father, acted like her father when I was entertaining someone and she enjoyed the laugh. Then one day Mom and Dad went to a family wedding on Mom’s side. Her cousin got married and after the wedding, her uncle came for a visit one Sunday afternoon, it was his first visit to meet us. He was my maternal grandfather’s brother, and immediately the comparisons were made. I acted like grandpa, looked like grandpa (I look like my mother), had the same sense of humor, etc.

This was getting out of hand: Mom had Dad on the defensive when it came to me all these years, now the tables were being turned! The worn had turned!

Suddenly, Dad had more bounce in his step, a certain air of confidence, and would remind me on special occasions how much I took after “Your mother’s side”.

By the time I got to college, the pendulum had swung back to the other side, then suddenly stood still! What was happening: was I losing my edge, were Mom and Dad losing interest in life, had I succeeded somehow? Dad was wearing my college jackets, without even asking me! He was asking me to do artwork for people he had done it for, for years, he even asked me to cover for him over the summer on his job while he was on vacation! To complicate matters further, Mom was making my favorite dishes, asking me to help my sister with her homework, even liking my girlfriends: my God: my life was crumbling before me! My suspicion was I was about to inherit some money, or some other fortune (rather quickly dispelled) or other great news.

Well here I am some 40 odd years later and I still haven’t figured it all out. Somewhere I missed something, somewhere something happened and they never told me.

Playcrafters proudly presents
Every Christmas Story Ever Told 
(And Then Some)
A Comedy by Michael Carleton, 
Jim FitzGerald, and John K. Alvarez

Fridays and Saturdays,
December 14, &15, 2012
Boys & Girls Club of the Bellport Area
471 Atlantic Ave, Bellport, NY 11713

Curtain Time: 8:00pm
Suggested Donation: Adult $18 Seniors/Students $15

For children and adults 10 and above!

Synopsis of the Show:
Instead of performing Charles Dickens' beloved holiday classic for the umpteenth time, three actors decide to perform every Christmas story ever told.