An Anti-environmental Rant

And that was it. There was no mention of Joan anywhere in the email, just Madeline's ever-present art ramblings. That was it, that was all Rog's mother ever thought about - Art, Art, Art. She was probably planning to give them a painting as a wedding gift, too. How conventional, Joan thought. Other newly weds would get down payments for a house and financially viable gifts from their parents. But no, not from Rog's mother.

Heck, her own parents probably would not provide a decent gift, either. They would think that paying for the wedding would be enough, provided they even did that. They were a bit fanatical when it came to their ideas about how things should be. Environmentalist to the core, their idea of a wedding present might be an ecco-friendly compost toliet.

The one care package she had received from them, before she had moved in with Rog, was a box of "green" toilet paper (what, they had stopped using leaves for this?), bland granola (ah memories of childhood), and a book on recycling opportunities. And even worse, Rog thought all this was just fine. He had insisted on using the toilet paper, replacing the soft name brand with the harsh and barely-sufficient that she had never used when alone. There was even mention of switching over to the more environmentally sound products. She had wanted to run screaming from the house, and only thoughts of their neighbor watching with slow interest stopped her. Was not giving up food products from any living creature enough?

If Madeline actually gave them a painting, she was sure this would be treasured by Rog. He liked his mother's painting and encouraged her to paint more. In fact Rog supported and believed in all the females in his life, even the mean-spirited Penny. Perhaps he should have been born to her parents, he seemed to be very non-materialistically minded. All he wanted to do was read, drink coffee, and "talk" about meaningful things. That meant things like feelings, opinions, and such.

But before her mind could continue its persnickety rant, her instant messenger pinged on.

"Joan - stop being negative. Zuleese says this is not good. Rainey."