When The Odd Couple falls out
Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2012 4:41 pm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Odd_Couple
For me, my favourite portrayal of Neil Simon's creation of the two cantankerous old men was Jack Lemmon as Felix and Walter Matthau as Oscar.
But what is the correct way to cope when
(a) such characters become part of your life?
(b) the big fallout, 'you are dead to me', occurs?
For me
(a) I treat them with respect but deflect any attempts to overstep the mark and impose their views on me with light hearted humour
, taking care not to cause offence, and apologise if I do.
(b) trying not to take sides can be difficult but it is much easier when one of them lives in another country.
(b) is happening in my sphere now. This concerns me, as a bystander, but I am concerned that the fallout has widened to include family and friends. I do not believe that I should cease contact with the other person's children because of the old folk have fallen out after 50+ years of friendship - even when I am told I should do so.
My view is that they are just two cantankerous old men, who have had fall-outs before and who may or may not make their peace together. If they do not, then each must come to some accommodation to accept the situation and live their life without the other in it.
Old friendships, like marriages, play by their own rules. So when family and friends start to polarise their views to show support for one or the other and cut out contact with other people too, they can find themselves in a tricky position when the main actors are happy together again.
I am wrong to view the situation in this way?
For me, my favourite portrayal of Neil Simon's creation of the two cantankerous old men was Jack Lemmon as Felix and Walter Matthau as Oscar.
But what is the correct way to cope when
(a) such characters become part of your life?
(b) the big fallout, 'you are dead to me', occurs?
For me
(a) I treat them with respect but deflect any attempts to overstep the mark and impose their views on me with light hearted humour
, taking care not to cause offence, and apologise if I do. (b) trying not to take sides can be difficult but it is much easier when one of them lives in another country.
(b) is happening in my sphere now. This concerns me, as a bystander, but I am concerned that the fallout has widened to include family and friends. I do not believe that I should cease contact with the other person's children because of the old folk have fallen out after 50+ years of friendship - even when I am told I should do so.
My view is that they are just two cantankerous old men, who have had fall-outs before and who may or may not make their peace together. If they do not, then each must come to some accommodation to accept the situation and live their life without the other in it.
Old friendships, like marriages, play by their own rules. So when family and friends start to polarise their views to show support for one or the other and cut out contact with other people too, they can find themselves in a tricky position when the main actors are happy together again.
I am wrong to view the situation in this way?