Alien Life

It may seem as though I spend all my time reading advice columns (since I can't help commenting on the oddities I find therein). But so what: they're just so strange sometimes.

Take this recent letter to Miss Manners, for instance, quoted in its entirety:

I am the paternal grandmother, and I hosted a meet-and-greet for our grandson. I hired a photographer and planned a day of making memories, mostly for the paternal great-grandparents.

Maternal grandparents want pictures. I say no. Our grandson lives three hours away, and we see him maybe once a month. They see him via FaceTime every day, every weekend, and never share with us. Am I wrong?

That's all there was: no setup, just launching into "I am the paternal grandmother." An introduction may have been edited out, but as is, it makes for a strange start, and then it gets stranger. What is this grandmother, a PR flak? She arranged for a "meet-and-greet"? She sets about overtly trying to "make memories," complete with a hired photographer?

I'm very glad not to be part of this family, whether in-laws or outlaws.