Dolphin relays a tale about his last family reunion

Last family reunion was the first that I attended “as an adult,” in which I had to do more than simply submit to hugs from random people who I assume are my family but whom I scarcely remember having ever seen before (or worse, don’t remember at all). This time I actually had to talk with these people. … To be honest, I was probably the strange one, after all, who brings a “roommate” to a family reunion (coming out is a bit more drama than I feel like investing in people I only see for one weekend every several years).

This particular reunion happened to be in 2003 or 2004 (I don’t know how often we have these things, I just get an invitation in the mail), during the lead-up to the 2004 election. Without really thinking about it one way or the other I tossed on an “Anybody but Bush” t-shirt one morning and headed on out for breakfast. Glancing up from my eggs, I caught a glimpse of one aunt’s eyes scanning my shirt. Then she asked, with a tone that seemed to combine confusion, frustration, and utter terror, “Are you a Democrat??”

The rest of the story goes a long way toward explaining why he’s hesitant about going to this year’s reunion.