Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Laughter through Tears

Laughter through tears is by far my favorite and most powerful emotion. It makes me feel human again. So in honor of that feeling, I will tell you a very short story about what an idiot my ex-husband was and is.

In the first year of that marriage, I was scanning the charges on our credit card bill. One line in particular caught my attention. It was a charge for $20 and I definitely did not recognize the vendor. It was a website called lunarembassy.com. Initially I thought that it was either an error or that someone had gotten ahold of our credit card number. Later that day, I asked then-husband about it. His face lit up when I mentioned it. He claimed it as his own purchase, and proceeded to tell me what our $20 had earned us. He had purchased a piece of the moon. That's right, we were the proud owners of a specific parcel of land on the moon. He was clearly proud of his shrewd buying activities. I was in shock while he rattled off the benefits of getting in on this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Despite his excitement and the fact that we were first time landowners, I got on the phone with the Lunar Embassy, and told them that "my son" had gotten ahold of my credit card and made the purchase without my permission. The woman was very kind and agreed to issue a credit to my credit card. It was the first time in that marriage that I realized I didn't have a husband, I had a teenage son. Sheesh.

34 comments:

Sarah said...

that's really funny, i just heard something about this on the radio lately. apparently there is some debate on whether this is legitimate (no really?), but the people selling the moon realy believe they have the right to do so and that those who buy in early will be able to cash in! uh, okay.

anyway, thanks for the comment on my blog. i just read through yours a bit and am so sorry to hear about your miscarriage. i hope you're able to find more laughter through tears, until the time when the tears are much fewer and far between. best wishes to you.

marlena rivers said...

wow. i just wrote a comment which included my amazement that i was the first to make a comment as i'm usually late to your posts. then my computer got messed up and the comment was lost. and in that time, sarah beat me to it to post a comment!
anyway i'll try to remember what i wrote. i hate when this happens and my comment gets lost.
great post. of all the weird things to spend one's money on. i guess it's good it was only 20 bucks and not a lot more!
looks like you have moved on to finding a more mature partner. denzel was married before we got together (we're actually not married) and he calls that first marriage a "starter marriage". actually we heard it from someone else at a dinner party and he thought it was a good way to put it.
what i said in the lost comment is also that we have this theory that everyone is also another "eternal child age" usually between about 1 and 15. he's 3 and i'm 7 but we seem to get along well despite the 4 year difference. the difference in our real ages is actually four years too but he's older.
what is your "eternal age"?

Renee Nefe said...

Oh my gosh, my ex was stupid like that too. I'm just so glad that you were able to get your money back. I'm betting they weren't able to sell much of the moon.

I'm sorry your SIL was so insenitive at Easter. Your feelings are totally valid and shame on anyone for saying that they are not.

Sambalina said...

LOL - That story was too funny. Most men are dumb. :)

Thanks for the comment on my blog. :)

Anonymous said...

thanks for the laugh! men are such boys, aren't they?

Aurelia said...

OMG, this is so funny! I mean, I've heard of guys doing things like this, as some sort of romantic goofy thing---but they always know it's a dumb joke. And they have the money to spare for it.

You know, like in the old movies where the lead says, "I'll buy you the moon, the stars" yadda yadda...but IRL? No...

So reason #412, that it's good thing you tossed this guy. Thank god!

Mary Ellen and Steve said...

That is so funny! Men are so much like little boys sometimes aren't they??

Carrie said...

Hi Nicole,
I've just been reading through some of your back posts. I'm sorry you've had such a rough time. The comments from your SIL really do hurt, I know it's maybe not intentional but it's so not helpful. I don't tell people stuff anymore because that way I won't get mad/upset when they ultimately say something stupid. I'm not suggesting this is the right way to handle things, far from it. I'm sure shutting down is a poor way of coping. Anyway I'll be dropping by hoping things look up for you.

Amanda said...

I had a teenage son.

Yup! You and me too! :)

ultimatejourney said...

That is too funny. Thanks for sharing! I love that you had the nerve to call and ask for a refund. I would've just stewed about it, but your plan was so much better!

Serenity said...

Ditto Aurelia 100%.

I love laughing through my tears too... you put it so perfectly - "it makes me feel human again."

*hug*

Somewhat Ordinary said...

Wow, I know you are laughing now, but I bet you were pissed when it happened.

Anonymous said...

Too bad you couldn't have sent him to live on the moon!

thrice said...

I've heard of paying to name a star in the solar system. BUT, owning a piece of the moon???

That's a good one. Ha ha ha ha ha ha

Anonymous said...

That's really funny. I don't know, but I think I would have kept my piece of the moon. I guess that makes me a teenager myself. Mind you that way of thinking explains my current financial state.

BerryBird said...

It is really telling that he was proud of his purchase. Some men really are just big hairy boys. So glad you traded up.

JW said...

Thats hilarious! And I wonder who gives them a right to SELL pieces of the moon anyway? Did they BUY it themselves? From WHO? Thanks for the laugh Nicole!!

Unknown said...

That's hilarious! I always wonder about things like that when I hear advertisements about "Star Registries"....the moon bit was pretty funny. :-) It gets me to thinking, though...WHO OWNS THE MOON that can legally sell it??

Dino said...

well at least they gave the money back. so why would you want to own a place at the moon?

Baby Blues said...

Hilarious! Please don't tell us where you got the piece of moon land. Other husbands might just decide to get one too. Boys!

That reminds me of my teenage son and alleged husband, Mr. Kite. He loves playing NBA in his PS2! And he would plead and be so nice everytime he asks permission to play. Husbands are kids at heart!

Unknown said...

oh how funny!

reminds me of the people who collected beanie babies and expcet to retire when they sell thier collection.

Mandy said...

ROFL!!! Yes that was suprememly idiotic!
I am total agreement with Bumble - who says it was their moon to sell?
In South Africa, if you set up residence on a piece of land and reside there for 3 days (or something) without anyone removing you, it is yours to keep. You should have sent him up there for a couple of days to make the whole deal legit!

Anonymous said...

OMG, what a maroon.... ;)

At least it was only a small piece of the moon and not rights to an estate on Mars or something!

a/k/a Nadine said...

I can definitely relate to teenage son scenario. That describes FF to a t. Although he hasn't bought any of the moon. That I know of.

Too funny.

Tam said...

Hi Nicole, you don't "know" me but I have seen you around in blogland. I just wanted to pop in and say that I am truly sorry for your loss. I hope that you feel better soon sweetie, yeah...that's men for ya!!

Sara said...

Actually, I'd be far more likely to buy a piece of the moon than my husband....

Anonymous said...

Eeeek. At least your *response* was funny.

Unknown said...

In my house it would have been me buying it, my husband getting the money back, then me getting mad at him for returning my land on the moon. Does he know you did that?

Jean Grey said...

Laughter through tears is one of my favorite things too. It is sometimes the greatest gift that makes it possible to go on, despite it all.

LIW (Lady In Waiting) said...

I thought that nothing could top my first spouse's plans to start an ostrich farm - even though we lived in a small apartment in the city and did not know the first thing about running a farm! :-)

First marriages provide us with the best lessons!

Hope you are feeling a bit better!!!

Bleeding Heart said...

That is too funny! My EX would probably have done the samething:)

The Momcaster said...

hahahaha - that's a great story.
boys will be boys...

Caro said...

I know exactly what you mean.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

It might be worth the $20, if you could afford it, just to see that smile on his face.

But yeah, we're all slow at growing up in different ways. (me too!) LOL! :-D

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