View from the North 40: Free tickets to the funhouse

Visiting family is like looking at yourself in a funhouse mirror. You know you are seeing yourself reflected back, but everything is skewed, cockeyed and out of proportion. Some of the reflections scare you, but some make you laugh out loud.

Half my family tree was lost in the divorce. Not my divorce, but my choice of tree branch to follow. Admittedly, I was young and very much interested in self-preservation of my early teenage psyche, but still I lost touch with half my family, half the genetic explanation of me. It was a bit like having an epidural. Your lower half is still there, but d...