How long does Barb have, and is she prepared? -

[Immortal Toothbrush]

This has probably been asked before, but I want to go a bit more in depth.

First, how long does she have? Obviously, her health and old age must be creeping up on her, and living in the squalid filth that is Chris' house mustn't be good for her health. I'd personally giver her at most five years, considering her non-existent health and lifestyle of inactivity.

The second part of this is: Is anybody in the Chandler household actually acknowledging and preparing for her passing? I know that Chris probably doesn't want to think about it if he's aware, but he's going to have to face the music soon... and Barb? Is she preparing? Have they planed for the future, or is Chris as always expecting God to hand him money and make it so he can sit on his fat butt and play vidya all day? Does she even have a will written, or any heirs to her property? How will all of that work?

I seriously wonder if Barbara is actually ANTICIPATING her death, after all: she has a miserable failure of a son, financial ruin, and a house that's falling apart. She's the laughing stock of the internet, and the only person she's got left in the world is Chris. If anything I'd think she'd WELCOME death...

Surely he MUST be aware that her time is limited, as must she, but will her passing cause ANYTHING to happen? Is he even going to prepare?

And when she does pass, will this be a new saga, or the swan song of our beloved Autistic Warrior?

If this topic is too similar to others, please remove it, but I felt I had to ask these questions, I don't know if we've taken fully into account Barb's thinking on this matter.

 

[Trombonista]

I'm not a doctor, let alone Barb's doctor, so I have no idea how long she has left. It could be anywhere between one and twenty years.

As for her (and Chris) being prepared?

 

[Bobby Boulders]

It's unknown if she smokes or drinks, but the only "vices" she has ATM are overeating and living a sedentary lifestyle. Even though her and Chris' relationship has been kind of rocky (hint-hint), I think there has to be SOME thought in the back of her mind as to what Chris is going to do.

My best guess? If she doesn't drop dead from a heart attack, and knows she has some time left, she'll probably tell Chris what he's inheriting, and that he should sell off Bob/Barb's/His heirlooms in order to have money to spruce up the place and cover any necessities for some time. The other option is that she'll probably leave Chris in Rocky's care, and will most likely end up in a shelter.

 

[Kosher Dill]

Does she even have a will written, or any heirs to her property? How will all of that work?

If she doesn't have a will, it pretty much goes to the closest relatives in the order you'd expect. Specifically that would be her children, which would mean Cole too. I doubt Cole would want to accept anything from his despised mother though - especially when any profits to be extracted are minimal and time-consuming.

I seriously wonder if Barbara is actually ANTICIPATING her death, after all

Bob's death must have hammered the point home squarely. I'm sure she's aware. Whether she chose to do anything constructive to prepare, who knows. I'd like to think that Bob set up a will and other arrangements during his lifetime. If not, probably no one else did.

Really, I think Barb will probably live a couple more decades anyway. Chris will be in his 40s or 50s and utterly helpless by the time Barb moves on to the next dimension.

 

[Atsimu]

I can see her going to a nursing home in the near future if her health worsens, which would probably be a step up from where she's at now. But that raises the question: would Chris go visit her?

 

[Kosher Dill]

I can see her going to a nursing home in the near future if her health worsens, which would probably be a step up from where she's at now.

I dunno how much of a step up it would be. If you can't afford a private nursing home, which I assume the Chandlers won't be able to, I think you just end up in a grim state-run facility. It probably would have somewhat less bugs than 14BC but it wouldn't be anyone's idea of fun.

But that raises the question: would Chris go visit her?

Of course he would. Right now, she can summon him back from anywhere as it is.

 

[LM 697]

Didn't she die like last week? There was a thread about it, I think.

 

[Henry Bemis]

This has probably been asked before...

Only about every other week.

Is anybody in the Chandler household actually acknowledging and preparing for her passing? I know that Chris probably doesn't want to think about it if he's aware, but he's going to have to face the music soon... and Barb? Is she preparing? Have they planned for the future, or is Chris as always expecting God to hand him money and make it so he can sit on his fat butt and play vidya all day? Does she even have a will written, or any heirs to her property? How will all of that work?

Everyone knows that they're going to die, even Chris. And like everyone else, Chris chooses not to dwell on the subject. Unlike a lot of people, however, there's no mention of Chris facing the death of a loved one (human or canid) before his mid-twenties, much less going to funerals. Bob was the big'n', however, the unavoidable fact that everyone's number comes up. May be part of why he's so tired of tending to her; every McDonald's run, every errand, every everything that Barb can't do is another step closer to the end.

I'd imagine in kinder times, before Chris and before her longest marriage, she set up a will, in which case, the Westons each get a cut. I'd also imagine Cole, as the blood relative with the longest left to go, would get a cut. It'd be interesting to see how much Chris would get, if she adjusted said hypothetical will accordingly.

Does she even have a will written, or any heirs to her property? How will all of that work?

If she doesn't have a will, it pretty much goes to the closest relatives in the order you'd expect. Specifically that would be her children, which would mean Cole too. I doubt Cole would want to accept anything from his despised mother though - especially when any profits to be extracted are minimal and time-consuming.

Cole seems to pity Barb more than despise her. Besides, I'm sure his jet-setting critic lifestyle can't accept whatever grubby, piddling change the Weston-Chandler estate can offer.

 

[Kosher Dill]

Cole seems to pity Barb more than despise her.

Even though she wouldn't tell him his real father? I think Cole will be pretty irate when Barb takes the "secret" to her grave.

 

[Henry Bemis]

Cole seems to pity Barb more than despise her.

Even though she wouldn't tell him his real father? I think Cole will be pretty irate when Barb takes the "secret" to her grave.

At the very least, he reserves the bulk of his rage for the Republican cur.

I say he pities her because of whatever motivates her proclivity for scurrilous mates.

(Two Cole-isms in one post...yay?)

 

[CatParty]

Doesn't matter when she goes, he is woefully unprepared. He will crack. No good will come of it. Someay say that he's finally free, but it's the beginning of rock bottom. Chris will not be able to handle rock bottom. Especially all on his own. He is not mature enough at all to be independent.

 

[LordCustos3]

I can see her going to a nursing home in the near future if her health worsens, which would probably be a step up from where she's at now. But that raises the question: would Chris go visit her?

Awwwww....but he's sooooo close to defeating World 5-2 and getting the Hammer of Gronthar. His heart level can deal with the hurtful truth level of dealing with Barb right now.

 

[Tubular Monkey]

Her father died at 58, her mother died at 56, and her sister Corrina died at 73. Barb will be 72 in October. Maybe.

 

[Alec Benson Leary]

First, how long does she have? Obviously, her health and old age must be creeping up on her, and living in the squalid filth that is Chris' house mustn't be good for her health. I'd personally giver her at most five years, considering her non-existent health and lifestyle of inactivity.

Unfortunately, we don't have enough knowledge to be able to make good predictions. All we can say for sure is she lives in a filthy pigsty and she ignores her doctor's dietary advice; while these things are of course subtracting time from whatever she was allotted, we can't really ballpark it very well.

The second part of this is: Is anybody in the Chandler household actually acknowledging and preparing for her passing?

This one we can make a better guess on. The answer is: almost certainly not. The Weston mindset imparts an all-important prioritization on today at the expense of tomorrow.

I seriously wonder if Barbara is actually ANTICIPATING her death, after all: she has a miserable failure of a son, financial ruin, and a house that's falling apart. She's the laughing stock of the internet, and the only person she's got left in the world is Chris. If anything I'd think she'd WELCOME death...

She's not as much of an imbecile as Chris, so I'm sure she's aware that her time will come soon, but if anything she's probably just pushing those thoughts out of her mind because they're too depressing.

If she doesn't have a will, it pretty much goes to the closest relatives in the order you'd expect. Specifically that would be her children, which would mean Cole too. I doubt Cole would want to accept anything from his despised mother though - especially when any profits to be extracted are minimal and time-consuming.

I wouldn't fault Cole for accepting any money from Barb's estate, although I doubt there actually will be any money.

Really, I think Barb will probably live a couple more decades anyway. Chris will be in his 40s or 50s and utterly helpless by the time Barb moves on to the next dimension.

It's possible. LordBear knows there are plenty of people who live disgusting, undisciplined lives and do nothing to prepare or take care of themselves and still live for decades longer than anyone could reasonably predict.

Even though her and Chris' relationship has been kind of rocky (hint-hint), I think there has to be SOME thought in the back of her mind as to what Chris is going to do.

I wish we had more concrete knowledge about her psyche for this subject, but our leading chrisiatrists are leaning toward one direction: That Barb really is a selfish monster who favors her own immediate contentment over Chris's future.

he should sell off Bob/Barb's/His heirlooms in order to have money to spruce up the place and cover any necessities for some time.

The only "heirlooms" of Bob I could think of would be his record collection, but knowing the decrepit state of the house who knows what condition those records are in.

The other option is that she'll probably leave Chris in Rocky's care, and will most likely end up in a shelter.

Barb doesn't like Rocky, but even if she did I doubt Rocky would simply accept Barb trying to "pass the torch" to her. She's a halfwit counselor who talks to church parishoners about their feelings, she doesn't want to become a full-time caretaker to a selfish manbaby.

Everyone knows that they're going to die, even Chris. And like everyone else, Chris chooses not to dwell on the subject.

I don't know, Chris lives in the here-and-now so completely that I would venture he has a much harder time conceiving his own immortality than the average joe. Although Marvin would probably say his thoughts have changed since Bob's death shocked him, and I'm not sure I'd disagree with him.

Unlike a lot of people, however, there's no mention of Chris facing the death of a loved one (human or canid) before his mid-twenties, much less going to funerals. Bob was the big'n', however, the unavoidable fact that everyone's number comes up.

To be fair, I didn't lose anyone I was close to until I was 18. I think Bob's death shocked him more because his autism meant he just expected his routine to continue forever, and Bob being there was part of that routine.

May be part of why he's so tired of tending to her; every McDonald's run, every errand, every everything that Barb can't do is another step closer to the end.

I don't think there's much to read into that. Chris just bitches about having to do anything for anyone else, no matter how reasonable it might be. Barb is an elderly shut-in, yeah, but so were my grandparents in their waning years; I used to run errands for them too and I considered it perfectly reasonable thing for them to ask me to do. Although, my grandparents were actually decent people with social skills...

Cole seems to pity Barb more than despise her. Besides, I'm sure his jet-setting critic lifestyle can't accept whatever grubby, piddling change the Weston-Chandler estate can offer.

What makes you think he pities her? We don't have a lot of records of him speaking to/about her, and in what we do have he seems to express mostly annoyance and grievance toward her.

 

[CWCissey]

I don't normally like talking about this subject, but I give Barb two years tops.

Of course she's not prepared. She's in denial and it's rubbing off on Chris.

Once Barb goes, that will truly be the start of 'Chris: The Wilderness Year(s)' as Chris just falls to bits and ends up in a jail cell/hospital/care home/coffin.

 

[Tubular Monkey]

Barb won't even have to be gone for Chris's life to get even more miserable. There's a good chance she'll be a bedridden lump, completely dependent on Chris for everything. I could see that lasting for awhile.

 

[Kosher Dill]

I wouldn't fault Cole for accepting any money from Barb's estate, although I doubt there actually will be any money.

There might be a couple hundred dollars if you knocked down 14BC, cleaned up the underlying land to modern environmental standards, and sold it. But you'd probably end up with way less than minimum wage for your troubles when it's all said and done.

 

[ChurchOfGodBear]

 

[Aleister Crowley]

That's kind of dickish.


Please explain how this isn't you being a moron for wishing a person's death. I don't care that it's Borb, the failure of a mother who brought us Christopher Weston Chandler. She's still a person. Why wish death on her? If this is some meta joke, then it's really in there deep.

 

[Henry Bemis]

Cole seems to pity Barb more than despise her. Besides, I'm sure his jet-setting critic lifestyle can't accept whatever grubby, piddling change the Weston-Chandler estate can offer.

What makes you think he pities her? We don't have a lot of records of him speaking to/about her, and in what we do have he seems to express mostly annoyance and grievance toward her.

That sort of cluck-your-tongue, shake-your-head, condescending brand of pity that I imagine Cole trades in very well when trying to avoid any mention of his backwoods upbringing.