La Famiglia

For those who only know me virtually, a little background.  I am the oldest of three.  I have a sister who is two years younger and a brother who is 12 years younger (side note, he looks WAY older than he is).  Being the oldest, I have often felt it was my duty to hold the family together and set a good example for the children. Four months ago, as we all know, I was whisked away to the charming south as a newly married bride, where frankly it is harder to keep an eye on them.

At first, I wasn't that concerned.  I said to myself, they are all adults, they can take care of themselves.  But secretly, I worried.  My dad started looking into getting an old car and talking lovingly about a 1940 Packard. You know how sometimes your gut just tells you something is wrong?  I thought to myself, this car is a bad seed. I hoped the deal would fall through, but no luck.

Oh Friends!  The calls started getting fewer and farther between, and when I did hear from them it was collect calls from pay phones with hacking coughs and sirens blasting through the bad connection.  Dad said that what sounded like gun fire was just the Packard backfiring.  Little did I know how bad it had gotten.  I got an email with these pictures from Danny the other day and I was shocked at what I saw.

When I left my dad was an upstanding man who I had NEVER seen with a cigarette.  I'm sorry to tell you this cigarette isn't even filtered!  Even worse, (I can hardly say it!) my little bearded baby has been corrupted.

And excuse me, am I imagining things, or is he actually packing HEAT!?!

I see that my mom has avoided the smoking, but I can hardly say that I'm comforted.

I'm just so saddened by this picnic.  

These are direct quotes from my dad:

"Tell Sarah we've been on an extended road trip and business has been very good.  Since I'm getting older now, Danny went along to assist with the driving.  I bought the Packard after all because it has a bigger engine and more room and this has been a big help in the business.  Things have been a little stressful on the road so I started smoking again.  Your mother is happy now that the money is flowing in again like water."

When I knew him, my dad just collected some coins here and there.  What in the world have they been doing to have a bag full of Benjamins and need guns, for heaven's sake?  

Needless to say, I'm worried sick about this state of affairs.  I'm hoping this blog will be a wake up call for them.  Family members who live nearby, please see if you can talk to them, for the child's sake.