@dughlas I dislike Ohio State but am able to stomach most of the other teams. I kinda like Michigan.
Mrs. Mann, while trying to do what she felt was right, forgot to ask Colt about it in advance. The yelling and disagreeing may have been avoided had she done so. Of course, she sounds a bit too clueless if after all these years she's unaware her son does not like Sam.
As for the argument because I gave birth to you being used as sufficient to justify almost anything, My brother and I had a similar response whenever our mother brought it out: Nobody asked you to fuck with Dad and get pregnant. We would have not minded never being born. We wouldn't have known. Throwing in the 'fucking Dad' line always got a strong reaction. Mom was prude who raised sex perverts.
As a kid, my block had six houses with a beach club across the street. My godparents lived next to us and my mother's uncle at the end of the block. Even after all those households except one were relocated to the United States, the friendships continued. Times have changed.