Author Archive: Gerard Coulombe

f I were to tell you, dear Reader, that this assignment comes from my editor who secretly longs to be best friends with his mother after several years of virulent distancing followed by periods of detente, you would tell me,…
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My mother, bless her soul, always said that the best kind of guest is the unexpected one, or two, or three who show up at the door, well, unexpectedly, of course. Since our door was at the back of the…
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There are several ways to maintain your privacy when you have house guests. The first is to keep your bedroom safe for yourself. Your bedroom is nobody else’s bedroom but your own. And, never give the key away. No spice…
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How to be a good guest in a cross-cultural event is being treated as a perplexing problem by some. As a mater of record, better than half of the introductory sentences in first paragraphs by contestants for many contests, have…
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What follows is a tip for dealing with messy guests rolled up into one. Written in plain text and hung in plain site, hand carved, if you wish, buy it or make it: Mess It, Clean It. What’s so hard…
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How to deal with guests who bring along unwelcome pets, is never difficult for someone who can deal with unexpected events with equanimity. None of our friends, as guests, would be so gauche as to foist an unknown pet upon…
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How to deal with a drunk guest, friend, or member of the family depends on whether the guest, friend or member of the family is a happy drunk, stumbling down and out drunk, or an argumentative, fighting till ejected from…
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When we have guests, the invited or surprise kind, we splurge a little. A budget can be readjusted. Barring a willingness to make an adjustment or to make do with what one has, one might as well be up front…
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Things to remember if you have Muslim guests Elizabeth Hitty writes an excellent paper on “Things to Remember if You Have Muslim Guests.” Hers is written from first hand knowledge. And, based upon her statements, I would trust her insights….
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It is best to maintain a respectful distance from his in-laws and her in-laws. Believe me, there is no better advice anybody can give. Take it from a couple that has been married for over fifty years to the same…
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How to get rid of unwanted guests is not always easy as some might think or what some of your friends might suggest you do about unwanted guests. If the unwanted person in your home is there because you let…
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Drunk and disorderly or rowdy and disorderly; both are rowdy and disorderly. Rowdy guests are of two kinds; the loud, opinionated rowdy guest who likes nothing better than to punch his way to win for his side, and the rowdy…
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I can understand Aunt Helen and Uncle Bob overstaying their visit; they will always be relatives. Our guests are friends; they don’t behave like fish as one writer suggests, although they might leave sooner if the weather is bad. That…
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You and your spouse of some 55 years are in bed watching the Late Night Show, having a laugh, when the doorbell rings. Surprise of surprises to find your old man, the seventh son of a seventh son at your…
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