Week 2: The Missing Stair

[caile]

It's best not to want anything from the kitchen when my father is cooking. He slams the cupboard doors and clangs the pots and stomps on the brown linoleum flowers underfoot. He fills up the whole room with a fug of irritability. If you go to the sink, it's bound to be just when he needs water. If you open the fridge, he'll trip over you. Wherever

Comments

[notodette]

"He can't teach us how to untangle the mess each generation makes of the next."

BOOM.

[kickthehobbit]

In a week full of good ending lines, the: He can't teach us how to untangle the mess each generation makes of the next. really sticks out.

Nicely done.

[bleodswean]

This is an insightful examination of "anger". I really thought this line after the preceding was perfect - Anger is like that, in our house. . The narrator has fantastic perception and it's this gentle voice that makes the piece work so well. Nice job.

[caile]

Thanks! Anger is on my mind, both how it's expressed and how it's reacted to.

[kehlen]

Do you ever felt physically unsafe when he is angry (whether he ever laid a finger on you or not)?

This is very vivid.

[caile]

Never. But there're definite emotional consequences.

Thanks!

[lawchicky]

My dad is bipolar and he is often angry for no conceivable reason. I know how difficult this can be.

[caile]

Bipolar is a tough one. Apparently men are more likely to have irritability as a symptom of depression. Most parents try their best, i hope, but throw mental illness into the mix and sometimes the best is just...not good.