CULTURE
The Intergalactic
Space Chronicle
Dear Louise Column - December
By Louise Farfell
Dear Louise,
My daughter put me and my husband in an old age home on Mars, and she never comes to visit.
On our birthday she makes a hologram call, but that's all she does.
When she was a child she ate all the avocados in the refrigerator. We said nothing, because at least it was avocado and not ice cream.
We did everything for her as a child, sent her to the best interplanetary schools, and gave her theremin lessons from age 2.
Do we have a right to demand more?
Maltreated in Mars
Dear Maltreated,
Of course, you have a right to demand more. You are her parents.
But others cannot mistreat us unless we let them. On her next hologram, use a little Grandma manipulation and reply, "So why aren’t you here?"
Always, Louise
Dear Louise,
I am a very busy woman with a family of 5. I work very hard outside the home and have very little time. I put my parents in a convalescent home on Mars (it was the best one). I send a hologram singing "Happy Birthday" to them at every birthday, and on holidays wish them a happy holiday. They have suddenly began answering my holograms by saying, "Nuu, so big deal, a birthday greeting, when are you stopping by?"
This is followed by face drops, frowns, and sighs.
I am a busy woman, what do I do?
No Time on Earth
Dear No Time,
They're your parents. Maybe you will get to be immortal, but they don't have that option yet.
Give them a little love, drop into Mars once in a while. Share a cup of coffee with them. I am sure they will prefer that to a hologram.
Always,
Louise