Through Google, Writer Is Haunted by L.A. Weekly Past

july 17, 2006  04:01 pm
When Kerry Madden wrote "9 Tips for Surviving the Holidays at Your Republican Parents' Home" back in 2004, there was little chance of her computer-illiterate mother finding it. So Madden felt safe including tidbits such as: "When your mother tells you the thing she really admires and finds so clever about Bill O’Reilly is that you can’t tell what he is -- a Democrat, a Republican, a Liberal -- keep the chopping knife steady, focus on the onions and garlic or the gentle rolling of pie dough. Do not make eye contact." (Here, third list.) But times have changed, Madden reports in Sunday's L.A. Times. Her mother recently signed up for high-speed Internet access and began exploring. With a quick search on her daughter's name, she found the L.A. Weekly article about her family. "It wasn't to humiliate or hurt them. It wasn't to attack them," Madden writes. "It wasn't even for their eyes, but Mother found it anyway, googling." Madden reports that she and her parents aren't speaking. The L.A. Times article, which provides further details on the family's political differences, probably won't help.