My old man..........
 

He's a great guy, really he is.

but........ there's always a but.......

has a warped sense of distance.

He texted me the other day, said he's booked a week in the USA with his wife and wants to meet up.

He's flying to F***ing Boston.

no connection. no change of planes, that's it...... Boston.

he does this all the time.

Booked a trip to New York 3 years ago over thanksgiving. told us to meet him there.

How do I say, in a polite and not livid as all buggery "Dad, you've never been to Ohio in the 3 years I've lived there, and only been to my house ever once, nearly 10 years ago..... shove boston up your arse.... because when I want to see my family, I fly to Manchester, not sodding Paris"


I really have no desire to spend a grand to traipse around after my stepmother looking in all the shops I have less than 2 miles from my house.


answers on a postcard.

Re: My old man..........
 

Of course, normally I would call my sister for advice, but 2 years ago she went to Florida for 2 weeks and asked me to meet her there.

Re: My old man..........
 

Honesty is the best policy? :unsure:

Re: My old man..........
 

LOL

Last year my parents went to Florida, no hint about us meeting them there, I made the suggestion; now I see it all, they were just being smart. I was manipulated.

Re: My old man..........
 

:lol:

Re: My old man..........
 

Tell him you'll meet him for lunch. Then give the name and address of a restaurant near you. He'll get the idea when he punches it into his GPS.

Re: My old man..........
 

Do this.

Tell him to go to Google Maps and Get Directions. Type in "Stockport, UK" in the A tab. Then type, "Toulouse, France" in the B tab.

That is exactly the same distance as it is from your house to Boston give or take a mile.

Re: My old man..........
 

After the first line I expected the next to be:

".....said be a City fan......"

Re: My old man..........
 

I'm moving from Manchester to Ohio soon strangely enough. I've told my sister that if she wants to come see me, I'll pick her up from Cleveland airport and left it at that.

Just tell him you haven't got the money to spend going up there and ask him to come to you. Be honest about it.

Re: My old man..........
 

All parents are a pain in the "but........" :)

Ian

Re: My old man..........
 

Hah! I agree, maybe explain to him just how much it will cost you (in both annual leave and money) to fly there and stay for the week, maybe he doesn't realise what he's suggesting.

I've been emailing my friends and family pictures of all the amazing local places I'm going to take them to when they come to visit us. Although - I'm blessed with pretty spectacular natural attractions here - not sure what Ohio is like.

Re: My old man..........
 

you sure you not related to me???:) that sounds just like the stunts my old man pulled (s).... He is still at it at 90yrs... (motto: only the good die young.. so mine is good for about another 30 yrs!!)

Have you had the letter yet?? had not seen him and mother for three weeks due to shift pattern and got this sarky letter with 'same address where their address shold be, and text of letter indicated they had not moved since we last saw them!!. Could we send updated photos!! next trick always was to wait till I was on nights then phone at 9 am!

Tell yours that Avis rent a car can rent him one, and make him drive to your house. Once he realises distance and time he will be driving, that might quieten him down.

Re: My old man..........
 

My parents will fly to my city, but they fly unannounced and turn on my doorstep. Literally. I will open the door, and there they are. "Surprise!!!"

Followed by "well we know you're busy, so you don't need to worry about spending any time with us, we'll just do our own thing."

:curse:

I feel for you, OP. Like I said my parents will come to my home city, but my dad likes to plan these elaborate road trips that involve the two of us driving ridiculously long distances around the Southwest, in July, with him driving dangerously under the speed limit. Or he'll plan for me to take Amtrak and meet him at the most godforesakenly remote train station at 2am. Somehow I've always managed to get out of these....so far.

Re: My old man..........
 

I know you are being serious but that whole post had me LOL :rofl::rofl::rofl:

Re: My old man..........
 

Tell him that's great and you will meet up with them in Ohio. Let them know it is better if they come over the weekend as you will be off work so you will be able to spend more time with them. send them you address and directions from your nearest airport. Do not give in or this may become a yearly thing!! good luck.

Re: My old man..........
 

Let him know that planes fly from Boston to Ohio, and you can give him a rate, plus connection times.

Don't you just love your families and lack of Geographical Comprehension? My wife and I were driving through Germany on our Honeymoon. She asked me if there would be any chance of visiting Auscwitz. I replied "Sure we can........IF WE DRIVE TO POLAND!"

Jim.

Re: My old man..........
 

Just proof read it for you but I think it's in a usable form as is...

Re: My old man..........
 

Auschwitz on your honeymoon, she's a romantic one your missis.

Re: My old man..........
 

That was after doing the Anne Frank House, in Amsterdam, too.

Jim.

Re: My old man..........
 

Maybe she had been looking at some old maps of Germany.

Re: My old man..........
 

I feel quite bad moaning at my parents for travelling into JFK rather than Newark because of the distance...

Its family though, you can be honest about how much of a pain in the arse they are being...

Re: My old man..........
 

Tell them to get a Cab from JFK to Newark, and then you won't need to tell them how much of a pain the arse it is to travel between the two;-)


Jim

Re: My old man..........
 

Hang on a minute, you had already gone from Netherlands to Germany, so she was only asking you to do what you had already done, just go to the next country over, very unreasonable of you. :)

Re: My old man..........
 

Yes, but, we already had our schedule lined up to pass through Luxembourg to Paris, and then back to Blighty.

Jim.

Re: My old man..........
 

So?? My female will quite often ask me to turn left or right and ALWAYS after we have passed the turn.

Re: My old man..........
 

Are you Tarzan?

Re: My old man..........
 

So in the end I just texted him back and didn't commit to anything but said we've already planned our weeks holiday going camping in Maine.......

who knows.


I'll send him a text in a few weeks saying I'm going to Istanbul can he meet me for a pint

Re: My old man..........
 

Yes when she pulls stunts like that .... it means I have to make wild swings:rofl:

Re: My old man..........
 

I often have to fly from JFK (with Singapore Airlines) even though I live 10 miles from Newark airport and have to go past it to get to JFK!

The best way to get to and from JFK is the State Shuttle (shared van service). It's an hourly minibus which is non-stop between EWR and JFK (and vice-versa) and much cheaper than going by car as the tolls on the bridges/tunnels are expensive....also less stress than driving there and back.

You can arrange to pick up your parents at EWR, Terminal A Arrivals - it's the first stop for the Shuttle from JFK. I always get friends and rellies to do that if they're arriving at JFK:

http://www.goairlinkshuttle.com/ (the vans JFK-EWR are usually maroon in colour and say 'State Shuttle' on the side.

No need to book ahead, just tell your parents to go to the arrivals hall and go to the Ground Transportation desk. The rep there will put them on the next shuttle and they can pay by cash or credit card.