Uhm, that was strange. Content has been edited for clarity.
Our Idols Aren’t Always What They Seem
“I remember having the slow realization that my best friend’s ‘cool dad’ was battling some major demons.
When you’re young, having an adult who will take you shooting, let you drive their truck on the back roads, and teach you how to weld and fix cars is amazing.
Then you get older and realize that you were shooting in the middle of a suburb, your friend’s dad was drinking and needed a ride home, and none of the welding instructions were done with proper safety gear. After that, it’s not hard to realize that the adult you idolized and looked up to had a serious drinking problem and was endangering kids.”
The Mom With The Serious Control Issues
“In high school, my friend was dating a guy, and we were both invited to his house. His mom was mean though and acted like us being there was awful. I rang the doorbell and was invited inside by the mom. I was there for an hour and had to go outside to get something out of my car.
When I came back inside, I was thrown into the following conversation:
Mom: ‘UM EXCUSE ME!’
Me: ‘I’m sorry, yes?’
Mom: ‘You didn’t ring the doorbell before BARGING into my HOME.’
Me: ‘Oh, I’m sorry. Should I go back outside?’
Mom: ‘We wait to be invited inside in this house.’
I went back outside and the door was closed on me. I rang the doorbell and heard the mom say: ‘Who is it?’
Me: ‘Hi, it’s Rusty here to see your son.’
Mom: ‘Just a moment! Come inside.’
It turns out every time you left the house even for a second she expected the pageantry of a first invite.
The whole time we were there he was uncomfortable and stressed out and apologetic for his mom’s behavior. I asked why we even came over and he said it was because his mom told him the only way he’d be allowed to hang with my friend (his girlfriend) is if it was in their home and they had a third person there. I was the ill-informed chaperone.”
An Emotion He Had Never Felt Before
“In college, I happened to go with a friend of mine over to his dad’s house, and we were messing around in his recording studio (his father was a professional studio drummer back in the day.) I had never played music before and was just messing around on the drumset, hitting random drums, then the dad came over and said: ‘Have you ever played the drums before? Can I show you some stuff?’ He then demonstrated a few simple beats, got me playing a beat, then played a few bars of a song on a nearby guitar. ‘Hey bud, you did really good! Keep practicing,’ he said, clapping me on the back.
I got uncomfortable, claimed I had to go to the bathroom, and went outside to have something like a small panic attack. I realized that, at 21 years old, I’d never had an older man/father figure be nice to me or show me anything before. I had a dad growing up but he wasn’t kind, suffice to say. The experience was so alien to me I didn’t know how to handle it and had to leave.”
They Were Barking Up The Wrong Tree
“I practically lived over at my friend’s house from my mid to late teens. His family was a devout Pentecostal family, and his dad was the treasurer of their church.
One day, I went over to their house, walked in and both parents were immediately in my face. ‘DID YOU STEAL MONEY FROM US?’
Someone broke into their roll-top desk and stole $2,000 from the church funds. They accused me, then the mother broke down and started crying. Sitting on the couch, hands in her face balling.
Then they all started praying for the return of the money. Then they prayed over me for guidance to do the right thing. I thought, What gives?
What they didn’t know was that their son, my friend, had his eye on a $2,000 Nikon F3 camera for a few months, and his parents wouldn’t buy it for him. What really blew my mind was he bought the camera and they never suspected him of stealing the money.
And he never apologized to me for it.”
Luckily His Parents Listened To Their Guts
“I was 12 years old, over at a friend’s house. When I had to leave to go home, his mother came running after me screaming that I couldn’t leave. I was already halfway down a set of stairs and just knew something was wrong, so I said I had to and continued on. She was still screaming for me to come back as I walked out the door.
I told my parents when I got home and they ‘looked’ at each other. Then nothing happened. A few weeks later, I was over there again, and everything was normal. My friend asked if I wanted to sleep over, he had the NES, so, of course, I wanted to. My parents didn’t let me though. True story, that night, his mother beat him to death with a wooden boat he had made in woodshop class.
She was a diagnosed schizophrenic and was later taken to a mental hospital. My parents knew, and they told me after his death.
Every parent in our neighborhood knew, us kids also found her odd at times, but we didn’t understand. Most of the time, she was perfectly normal to my eyes. I’ve heard stories afterward about all the weird stuff she did that the grown-ups noticed though. Like seeing military tanks in the parking lot or trying to steal another neighbor’s dog because she wanted protection. I’m sure his school, teachers, CPS, ex-husband all knew. But she was probably on meds and fine most of the time.
Hindsight though.
it’s been 25 years since it happened, and it still gives me chills.”
They Still Feel “Lucky” To Have Been In The Room That Day
“In the eighth grade, I had a friend who came out to me and our friend circle as gay. Whatever, he was a cool guy, and I’d always had my suspicions anyway. He wasn’t incredibly flamboyant or anything, he just gave me a vibe. He told us he was afraid to tell his squared away hardcore marine openly homophobic dad. He was terrified of how he’d react since his dad was very vocal about his homophobia.
Almost a year or so after he came out to us, he decided he wanted to tell his dad and live his truth. He asked me, a couple other good friends, and his mom who he’d told right after us to be there as moral support and witnesses.
We sat down to a really lovely, but tense meal. We had salad and entrees, and his mom was bringing out little pieces of frozen cheesecake. Nobody said a word the entire meal. We were all pretty visibly nervous so his dad looked at me and asked his son what my problem was. I guess that was all the prompting my friend needed because he just blurted out:
“I’m gay. I like boys. I’m gay.’
The words just hung in the air. Everyone sat in silence and it felt like the world stopped spinning. His dad just sat there for what felt like a million years with a piece of cheesecake still on his fork. Finally, his dad slowly stood up, walked to my friend, stood him up and gave him a hug. He and his dad both started crying, so his mom asked us to leave so they could talk, but while they were still hugging and we were getting our shoes on we could hear his dad still in the dining room saying:
‘I’m sorry. I can be better.’
We were all military families, so they moved a few months later, but he added me on Facebook several years ago. He had a ton of pictures with his parents and partner at pride events, doing regular father/son stuff, and just having the kind of relationship every boy hopes to have with his dad. His dad’s reaction and subsequent change floored me. To see somebody who had been one way their entire life just change out of love for their kid. I still feel very lucky to have been able to be in that room that day.”
It Took Years For Them To Gain Perspective
“When I was a teenager, I hung out every day at my best friends house – her mom was a single mother of two and ran a daycare out of her home. Her mom was terrible and never made my friend go to school, encouraged and allowed us to smoke inside her home (starting at age 12), and forced my friend to have a baby at age 16 (wouldn’t allow her to have an abortion).
My friend and I worked for her mother’s daycare, and I was at their house every day. Then one day, the neighbor’s 30-year-old son showed up back at his parents’ house with a few trash bags full of clothes – apparently, his wife kicked him out because he had issues with the bottle. Not long after that, my friend’s mom ended up hooking up with the neighbor’s son and he moved in with her almost immediately.
The house turned into a huge party house every single weekend. My friend and I (still 16) were usually the ones sent to fetch their substance of choice and they always paid us in other substances. We were included in all the festivities as if we were adults, and we felt so cool. I did my first line of coke with my school bus driver at one of those parties. As if all the partying wasn’t enough, my friend’s mom practically forced her 16-year-old daughter to share a bed with a 35-year-old man. Her mother said she thought they made a cute couple, despite the 20-year age gap.
My friend’s baby had it rough, I did as much as I could to help raise him but, in the end, I cut ties with them when I realized how toxic the home was. I reported to the kid’s other grandmother (father was not involved at all) of all the madness going on in the home, not sure if she ever did anything though. My friend’s stepdad ended up OD’ing and dying on the toilette, last I heard of my old friend, she and her boyfriend went on a robbery spree and when the feds busted down their door she flipped on her man and he went back to prison. “
I Bet He’ll Think Twice About Going Through A Stranger’s Laundry Next Time
“I went with my friend to see a girl he was interested in dating. They’d seen each other a few times, and we were all good friends anyway.
When we got to her house, the girl went to the garden to get something and left us in the kitchen. While waiting for the girl, my friend noticed a basket of clean washing on the kitchen worktop that had obviously just been brought in from outside.
On top was a pair of red and black frilly panties. My friend thought it was funny to pick them up and pretend to sniff them and then put them on his head. As he was doing this, he was facing me with back to the open doorway to the hall. I couldn’t speak from shock as behind was the girl’s mother who stood watching what he was doing. He clocked the expression on my face and slowly turned around and just looked at the girl’s mom and said ‘Sorry’ in a very sheepish voice whilst shamefully taking the panties off his head. The mom said something about them being hers and not the girls anyway, but by that point, we were making a swift exit.
It was painful.
That was about 25 years ago. Coincidentally, my wife now works with the mother, and we’ve met her out at company parties a few times. I don’t think she remembers me, but I don’t have the courage to ask!”
What Do You Do When Your Best Friend’s Mom Comes Onto You?
“My best friend’s mother is Jamaican and she holds these big BBQs in the summer. Her son (my friend) is in the military, but even if he’s deployed, she invites all his whiteboy friends. Partly because I think she actually likes us, but the biggest reason is so she can get us to eat weird things and she and her friends can laugh at our expressions.
This one time she gave us what she called Jamaican meatballs, and only three of the 12 people there were brave enough to try it. This included my two friends Joseph and Dave and myself. Dave made it three bites and couldn’t cope anymore but Joseph and I finished ours. The mother came up to us to tell us that we had in fact just eaten bull balls. Joseph ran away to wash his mouth but I didn’t really care.
At that moment, the mother who was a little wasted grabbed my butt, and said: ‘I like a strong guy!’ This was before I met my wife and she was single but still, you don’t come onto your mate’s ma, So I panicked, picked her up, and started dancing to the reggae being played in the background. This had an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage was she was rather short and I was tall, so she could no longer reach my rear (or the floor). The problem was I now had a slightly amorous lady at my head height and she went for a kiss.
I should point out both my friends and her friends are very much laughing at this very uncomfortable bloke holding a middle-aged lady in the air while trying to dodge a snog from her. At this point, she gave up on my face and started kissing my neck and I was so taken away that I dropped her! She landed flat on her bottom and it was one of those moments where everything goes silent. It didn’t stay quiet for long though. She started laughing and half-jokingly, half-dead serious said: ‘You better be ready because I’m gonna get you later.’ She didn’t. She drank a lot and passed out just before we left. My friend and I actually put her to bed.
Her son got back from deployment shortly after and I told him the story and he said that I was always her favorite. I have been to many of her BBQs since and she has apologized, but whenever she gets a little tipsy, she likes to dance with me. I think she doesn’t try anything now cause I bring my little Vietnamese ninja of wife but she does like to tell the story and always winks at me like she’s trying to hint things.”
“It Was All Just Really Strange”
“When I was around 10 years old, I was sleeping over at my best friend Juan’s house. We usually stayed up late playing and would sleep in until like noon, which I loved because I rarely got to do that at my house.
At about 8 am, his dad came into the room and told me to get dressed because he needed my help. His dad was a big drinker, so either his breath reeked from last night or he had one for breakfast, either way, he was a bit buzzed. He told me he needed my help in picking out a toy for Juan as a surprise, and we were going to drive to Walmart.
So, we got in the car and drove down to the Walmart. It was a pretty awkward ride and he started asking me questions to make small talk, like how I was liking school and if I had a girlfriend yet.
We got to the Walmart and he took me to the toy section and asked me what toy I thought Juan would like. I walked around and saw Darth Vader’s Tie Fighter. Juan and I were huge Star Wars fans and even went to go see Empire Strikes Back in theaters when it was re-released, so I knew he would like it. He bought the toy and then we had another awkward car ride back.
He thanked me for helping and asked me to keep it a secret. I changed into my pajamas again and tried to go back to sleep, but about 10 minutes later his dad came in and surprised him with the toy and gave me a wink.
I found out a few years later that the reason he had me go on this mission to get the toy was because he had been wasted a couple of nights prior and hit Juan and he wanted to make it up to him.
As far as I know, that was the only time that ever happened, but I don’t really know since we lost touch after junior high.
It was all just really strange.”
Not The Most Tech Savvy Group Of Guys
“My friend’s dad who I was building a website for, and thus was in contact by email, seemed to accidentally forward me a powerpoint containing a bunch of super generic, but hardcore adult videos that were copied and pasted onto several slides that was shared with no fewer than 30 other men.
A bunch of old and not tech savvy guys thought that copying and pasting the links into a powerpoint was either the most efficient, or the most discreet way of sharing the stuff, and somehow, I accidentally got added to the list.
I was less shocked at the fact that this guy shares videos with his buddies and more at their method of sharing it.
This was like 2010. These guys were just old.”
Who’s The Bad Parent Here?
“I was six years old and had two friends who were identical twins who lived a few buildings over from my family’s apartment. They were a few years older than me and lived with their single mom.
One day, I went over to their house with a bunch of snacks (Dunkaroos mainly, some Oreos and those cheese dip and crackers). I remember going back home shortly for dinner and when I came back, they opened all the snacks, smeared the dip all over the carpet and walls then dunked the crackers and cookies in them (they were troubled kids). Dollops of chocolate and cheese whiz and crackers everywhere.
Their mom came in the room, saw the mess, literally explodes and started beating them with a broom handle (Note: She wasn’t whacking just them, she was poking them in the gut and ribs, like jabbing them). I was freaking out and just slowly walked out of the room and went back home.
Another time, I convinced my friend who had overprotective parents to take the Metro with me to go like 40 minutes away to buy fireworks. When we were on our way back, just as we stepped off the bus, his mom passed by at the same time. He started crying before his mom even said anything and I think he got grounded for weeks; witnessed his mom go red in the face and scream at him from across the street. Prior to leaving, I told my mom: ‘Mom, we’re going to get fireworks,’ And she said: ‘Ok, do you need any money?’
We were like 11. Oh, fireworks are illegal here.
I realize my parents were the bad parents. I’d often sleep over at friends’ houses and their parents would have to ask me if my parents knew I was here.
Most of the time, they had no idea what I was doing, where and with whom. I made friends with people when I was five or six years old that my parents had never even met.”
This Is Still The Most “Satisfying” And Memorable Moment Of His Life
“I had a weird hookup with a friend’s mother once.
My friend had moved back in with her mom when we were in our late 20s. Their mom lived around the corner from me, so it was not uncommon for them to invite me over for drinks/dinner/hang out.
One night, I was walking back from a bar and my friend texted me to come over and have a drink. I was only a block or two away, so I thought ‘sure, why not’ and headed there. I arrived and both my friend and her mother were wasted and listening to music in the lounge room. We all drank some more together and were talking.
About an hour or two later, my friend just hit the wall and wanted to go to sleep. I told her I would go home and walk with her down the hallway, but her mother called out: ‘I just poured you another glass,’ so I put my friend to bed and headed back down the hallway to the lounge room.
Straight away the mother changed the music to something more ‘romantic,’ the lights were dimmed, she told me to come sit by her and within moments was telling me how I was always her favorite of her daughter’s friends before placing a hand on my thigh.
I’m not going to lie, I always fancied her… she was top-notch when we were growing up and was the flirty, fun type. We made out a little right there on the couch, messed around, and she gave me the most satisfying experience of my life.
We made loose plans to meet up again, but ultimately decided it was too risky and left it at that and decided that it would be our secret and never tell anyone.
Sadly, she died suddenly last year.”
“Might As Well Go Big!”
“When I was a sophomore, I went on vacation with a friends’ family to some beach hotel. Downstairs there was a super upscale seafood restaurant where we went for dinner one night, dressed up in suits and everything. Unbeknownst to me, this family was really cheap. Not ‘frugal’ like they claimed, but cheap. First off, the hotel we stayed at was already paid for because his mom was a teacher and the school board gave them this as a ‘teacher’s weekend.’ Second, because we stayed at the hotel that the restaurant is attached to, we got 50% off our whole bill. Third, my mom handed his dad money for my food for the week that I can spend on any meal I’d like.
The meal starts, and the waiter starts taking drink orders. I say ‘Coke, please!’
His dad, from the other side of the table leans over to me and says ‘You sure?’
Now everyone is staring at me while I order my drink.
I said,’Yeah, I’d just like a Coke please.’
He pipes up again, ‘Alright, we’ll if you’re going be spending your parents money then might as well go big!’
It’s a soda for two dollars but okay, so I just kinda let it pass and broke the awkwardness by changing the topic.
Drinks are served and now comes time to order. His family decided for the table, for five adults, the best plan of action is to split two small appetizers and eat free bread instead of getting meals individually.
I have my own money, and when I went to order a steak, he says again in front of everyone ‘Hopefully, you have enough money for breakfast!’
So at this point I’m basically engulfed in this jumbo of passive-aggressive comments and cheapskate mindsets that I kinda slowly lost my appetite and just sat there while picking at the appetizer we got.
The appetizer was fried calamari served on a bed of spinach. The calamari was gone and the plate of greens had been sitting there for about five minutes now. The waiter, who had just started and was being trained that day, comes by and picks up the plates.
All of a sudden, his dad says out loud for the restaurant to hear ‘Where’s the darn spinach?’
The waiter rushed over and asks what the problem, is trying to diffuse it. He might as well had walked up and kicked him right in the balls because his dad erupted in rage. He had taken the waiter cleaning the plates off the table as some personal threat and had gone off the rails.
My friend steps in and tries to calm him, and he said, and I quote to his own son, ‘Forget you, I’m not going to calm down. You’re the kid, I’m the dad. Remember that.’
He eventually calms to a point of where the manager not only comped him his half-priced order of waters and calamari for free, but a second free meal to ease this magnificent burden in this man’s mind.
I remember being dumbfounded with how weak I saw him for the rest of our friendship. To completely embarrass yourself and your family over calamari, just wow.”
[Text Source](I love saving money as much as the next guy but there’s a fine line between being frugal and being cheap. I like to think that line is drawn right before you’re complaining to the Applebee’s manager to get your meal for free after the waiter brought out the extra honey mustard you asked for but failed to inform you that it cost 30 cents more (a different story for a different time).
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