You’re in the red zone!

 

You’re in the red zone!





     Creason family drama from a beer soaked night on Terraine avenue in Long Beach where my parents maintained a mostly pleasant and peaceful home for thirty years. It figures that one of my least favorite in-laws would be the cause of a kerfuffle in the dining room of the pad where many a fine family dinner was served by my Mom. For some impossible to understand reason my sister married a louse named Tim Lacefield who sometimes worked as a psychiatric technician which is a nice word for orderly in a nuthouse when he wasn't on disability for a fake back injury. Lacefield was ignorant and seemed to only be interested in a few things in life including dope, fishing and sex. His conversations ran from the gutter to lower than the gutter and I believe he was and is a legit sociopath. He was tolerated because of my dear and gentle sister but after a cruel experience I had with the dumbass I disliked him as much as any other kin except maybe one of Lori's husbands named Jay. The incident that gave rise to the saying mentioned in this tape title took place at the end of a small gathering with my ultra-conservative cousin Joe and the aforementioned drunken in-law. Joe was liked by my siblings just because he was the son of our sweet Aunt Ladybug and once taught Stephen a few life lessons on the farm in Paso Robles both good and bad. Joe's wife was a hypochondriac and Stephen told Lacefield stories of her relationship with the local pharmacy plus her weight gains after four children. For some reason the inebriated  Lacefield was bantering with Joe who was good naturedly playing along until the conversation devolved into insults about Joe's wife and his membership with the Knights of Columbus. Joe, not wanting to upset my Mom allowed this to go on a while but when the coarse remarks involved his wife of many decades he pointed his large finger at Lacefield and said in a grave tone "you're in the red zone!" Translated, this meant one more word and he was going to punch the damn fool in his face. Luckily, Stephen intervened and kept it from becoming fisticuffs but the saying was used to describe any time someone crossed the line in conversations. All my first cousins are gone now but at least Joe left behind one good concept to the vernacular.




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