The DU Lounge

A childhood friend came to town to visit and asked me over to his parent's house, the same place we played when we were kids.

We were the poor white trash people in our little town. The parent's house was falling apart when we were kids and it was in worse shape now, with collapsed ceilings from water damage and holes in the floor (watch your step!).

In the living room of this home, one wall was taken up by a shrine to Princess Dianna. There was a table in the center with a huge portrait of her, flanked by lit candles. Arranged on the table were various collectable trinkets with her picture on them, flowers in vases, and the wall behind the table had dozens of pictures of the Princess from various times of her life.

Why these Midwestern rednecks fixated on the Princess is beyond me. I asked my friend and he started singing her praises, too, so I dropped the subject. Folks are folks, and it's really none of my business how they keep their living room.

For what it's worth, years later the whole damn family turned MAGA, including, heartbreakingly, my friend.