Memories from Munich

I received this drawing from my dad last week with the explanation, "Enclosed, memories from Munich 2005. The lions are real and made on me an unforgettable impression."

My dad expects me to write back to him my opinion on each of his drawings. He respects my opinion and often tries to do what I tell him needs fixing. I'm not very good at faking flattery, and I'm often blunt with him.

So here's what I replied with: "Very interesting impression. Are the people real size? They look tiny."

My dad has a very dry sense of humour. He never tries to make anyone laugh. And he hardly laughs himself. But somehow people always end up laughing from what he says. Mostly because it's so ridiculous and outrageous that they can't believe he actually said it. Most people would think it tactless to say what he says. I grew up feeling mostly embarrassed by things he'd say that would make people laugh. I just never thought it was funny. Needless to say, his response to my email caught me off guard.

"You are right. The people were too tiny. I made them to match the height of the doors around, but comparing to lions it didn’t look right. So I raised the doors and enlarged the population a little. The lions are the same, but they have too much fat after consuming all the people, who are already out of my picture. See the corrections."