Just a chime....or??

[westgrandboulevard]

I can speak as someone who was smaller in height and/or build than many others at school.

I could hold my own with cheerful demeanour and humour, but some saw the thoughtful, 'wanting to be good' side of my nature as a weakness, and used it as an excuse to marginalise, if not exactly to bully me, and to exclude me from activities.

I wish now that I'd stepped forward and simply whopped them in anger, instead of stepping back, remaining silent, and letting negative thoughts about myself get into my head. It took nearly half a century to finally eliminate them.

[Jerry Oz]

I hope you will not spend too much time lamenting the factors that created who you are. There are many things that I would do better if given a second chance, but knowing that anything I did differently would change who I am would give me pause. All things being equal, I may not be a millionaire or celebrity, but I am pretty cool with being me.

[westgrandboulevard]

Deep down in me, there's always been a fairly strong sense of self - just that it didn't show too much on the surface. I can imagine that might have made it difficult for others to 'read' just what made me tick.

I agree, too much introspection should be avoided!

A very early school report said I was 'diffident' - but looking back, that was probably a sign to my parents, to watch.

Yes, it's very important to be comfortable with ourselves, and I am. It's only under pressure,when things are on my mind, and the desire to simply reject them is strong, I still find I tend to keep rationalising things to myself, rather than follow my instincts and be spontaneous and decisive. There's a plus side to that, as it means keeping myself on track - and not giving way to the grasshopper side of my nature that isn't always helpful to me! LOL

[Jerry Oz]

I'm okay with introspection but too aware that thinking too hard about what you'd change [[if you could) can push you into a fog of regret. I'm too prone to doing that, so I'm teaching myself to avoid thinking too hard about the past and trying to focus on the lessons from my mistakes. I used to worry so much as to be nearly depressed over little things. I'm sure that that's all still in my nature but I'm better at figuring out when I'm headed down that path and redirecting myself. On the flip side of that? I haven't had a good cry for years and sometimes I really want to but can't. When it happens, I'll either feel much better or never stop...

[westgrandboulevard]

We should rechristen this 'the agony aunt' thread, where we can head to let it all hang out

Jerry, if you're comfortable in sharing more, have you ever spoken to your doctor about the possibility of depression?

[Jerry Oz]

Nope. In honesty, I've been doing well by not dwelling on negative things. The very real possibility [[and fear of) a downward spiral led to me examining things and reclassifying what I feel I need to worry about. The end result is that I don't kick myself anymore after realizing that angst is not my friend and that the only thing that changed due not worrying about it was the way that I felt. To put it another way, if the train is going off the track, it's better for the engineer to take corrective action and if that fails, mitigate the damage. Neither of those is a possibility if he chooses to panic instead.

[144man]

Just A Chime:

When do the clocks go back an hour in the USA? Is it the same date for every time zone?

[Jerry Oz]

It's distressing when the night comes an hour earlier one night than the evening before... I believe they reset in the first weekend in November. It seems to get later and later over time. There are some states [[Indiana and Arizona) that do not participate in daylight savings time, but it is the same date for every time zone.

[144man]

I've been getting up in the middle of the night to listen to Midnight Johnny's "Nightflight". As our clocks go back last weekend in October, I'll have to get up one hour earlier for one week.

[moe]

Yep, you will 144man......................

And now a word from our sponsor........................................... .......

[144man]

Where is our sponsor?

[moe]

He's coming...............

[144man]

So is Christmas.

[Jerry Oz]

Speaking of which, I'll be IMing each of you my gift list this year. Don't worry if you cannot get all of it yourselves, pass it along to enough of your friends so that you don't have to. I'm generous enough not to take offense to that...

[144man]

Sorry I'm unable to contribute. I hate being strapped for cash [[literally), but you have to make a living somehow!

[moe]

Get out on the streets 144man........

[Jerry Oz]

Indeed! We cannot be so selfish as to only think of ourselves at Christmas time. Why, your going into debt to make sure I have a very merry holiday speaks well of you and will teach a lesson to the youth that Christmas is about giving. I would love to go on the nightly news with all of the wonderful swag you all provide to me and tell the world "$&!? yes, there is a Santa Claus, Dawg!" Be part of something special.

[144man]

Get out on the streets 144man........

And with the dreaded UK Bedroom Tax - sorry, Under-occupancy Penalty - , that is indeed where many of us will find ourselves living

[144man]

Indeed! We cannot be so selfish as to only think of ourselves at Christmas time. Why, your going into debt to make sure I have a very merry holiday speaks well of you and will teach a lesson to the youth that Christmas is about giving. I would love to go on the nightly news with all of the wonderful swag you all provide to me and tell the world "$&!? yes, there is a Santa Claus, Dawg!" Be part of something special.

I WILL think of you this Christmas. After all, it's the thought that counts.

[moe]

Thinking costs us nothing...........

[Jerry Oz]

[moe]

Is that a pic of you, Jerry? Or your alter ego?

[Jerry Oz]

That's me circa 30 or 40 years ago. They let me play the drums at my junior high school prom. At the point that they realized that I was actually 57 years old and could only play rim shots, they escorted me from the building and told me to never come within 500 feet of a school again.

Of course, I sued that it was a violation of my civic rights. After all, I pay my taxes, so I should be permitted to attend junior high at any age. To show the true ugly face of America, I was also escorted away from the court house and advised that if I ever filed a lawsuit with "flimsy merits" again, I'd be arrested for abuse of process. The judge was unhappy that I set up my drum kit and every time he said something that I didn't like, I played another rim shot.

I guess he's not a huge advocate of free speech?

[moe]

I guess the judge doesn't have a sense of humor either!! BOOM BOOM [[Sorry John Lee Hooker!)

[Jerry Oz]

He never had a sense of humor, moe. I was so upset, I sat down and wrote him a letter to express my displeasure. It started out like this:
"Dear Dad: Why did you kick me out of court today?"

[westgrandboulevard]

And back came the reply : "Your Mum insisted" - ??

[Jerry Oz]

Dad and I have been on the outs since he made Mom his bailiff. Give a woman a badge and a taser and she'll swear she's the center of the universe.

[westgrandboulevard]

When my brother-in-law moved out from their family home to go to university, his mother sold his bed.

[Jerry Oz]

I hope she didn't use the money to change the locks on the door behind him...

[westgrandboulevard]

Neither of them were ever exactly fulsome in their appreciation of each other, so I suppose that was indeed the mental equivalent of changing the locks.

I say 'were', as his mother is still alive, but Nick died ten years ago in January.

Life, like love, is not only wonderful but also extremely strange.....

[Jerry Oz]

It's hard to understand sometimes. I personally believe that my parents are easily the best in the world. Same about my brothers and sister. It dawns on me that many of those in familiar situations that make me cringe - fighting, screaming, swearing at each other - have the exact same sentiments about their families. There is no accounting for love or how it should be expressed.

[moe]

Jerry, did you get the message?

[Jerry Oz]

Only just now. I seldom get messages on this board, so it's rare to even check anymore. Thanks, moe.

[144man]

You don't have to check your in box. It gets indicated in the "Notifications" at the top of the page.

[Jerry Oz]

I know that now... I will be more vigilant to do so in the future. Thanks for the heads up, though, 144.

[144man]

I have to keep deleting messages when there's more than 50. I don't understand how "putting in folders" works.

[moe]

You are very popular 144man......

[144man]

Not really. I only delete the minimum, so I have to keep doing it.

[moe]

So practice makes perfect?

[144man]

Well, now I've done so many posts, they're always prefect.

[westgrandboulevard]

Unlike the latest one

[144man]

I had a text from a friend to remind me the clocks go forward tonight. With friends like that...

[westgrandboulevard]

I suppose you could be charitable, and consider that text as having been lost in cyberspace for months.

No?

Didn't think so.

Me neither....

[Jerry Oz]

Since I wasn't an hour early for church this morning, I presume that the US won't be changing until next weekend...

[moe]

You are correct, Jerry...........
SO: JERRY:
O-H-I-O!!! Nice game yesterday!!
Guy I work with found a Brutus hat on EBay & is using it for Halloween.

[Jerry Oz]

I can honestly say that I didn't suspect for a minute that they'd blow them out... I can already guess what the water cooler conversation will be about tomorrow at work.

[westgrandboulevard]

And it won't be Legionnaires' Disease......

[Jerry Oz]

Hmmm... I've been working since 1978 and I'm 100% sure that I have had no conversations about Legionnaires' Disease at work since then. I might have to collect a few notes just in case it comes up tho'.

[westgrandboulevard]

You can't be too careful

[Jerry Oz]

True enough. It's almost time for the government to warn me about the next pandemic. They should have a holiday each year for the Great Reveal. Bird Flu. West Nile Disease. H1N1. Time to order my bubble...