Text 303, 89 rader
Skriven 2006-03-30 13:42:19 av Ardith Hinton (1:153/716.0)
    Kommentar till text 295 av George Pope (155.survivor)
Ärende: School Daze
===================
Hi, George!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

AH>  "I'm not a thing & I'm not poor"....  ;-)

GP>  People say, "I'm sorry," to me


          Another expression of sympathy.  It may not be what you would prefer,
but at least they're paying attention & trying to relate....  :-)



GP>  and I respond, "Oh, it WAS your fault, then, eh, good,
GP>  I've been looking for you!  I regret that I cannot
GP>  afford to accept your apology alone; my lawyer will be
GP>  contacting you to determine an out-of-court settlement."


          Uh-oh!  Gallows humour alert... [chuckle].

          While I like the idea of lightening things up without minimizing your
own problems in answer to these people, I must point out that Nora doesn't make
the above comment directly to the individual(s) concerned.  She knows they mean
well & doesn't want to hurt their feelings.  As a teacher I also know that when
you don't like what a dog or a kid is doing you need to tell them what else you
want them to do instead... but a formulaic response wouldn't work.  Part of the
problem with the above examples, IMHO, is that anything we've heard over & over
from various people begins to sound like a formulaic response.  I felt the same
way when I was pregnant with Nora & others kept saying "Are you pleased??"  I'd
have thought they realized it was deliberate, after two miscarriages... (sigh).

          Unfortunately there are people who think that if something goes wrong
it has to be somebody's fault... and if it's not their fault, it must be yours!
Anybody who's been seriously abused by such people may find it difficult to see
the humour in your response.  I'd cut them a bit of slack.  OTOH there are also
people who think they'll never have cancer or a stroke or whatever because they
live right (unlike you & me, of course).  Some of them may want to make it seem
like your fault.  And some of them may get a rude awakening eventually....  :-/



GP>  I think "moderation" is best defined by self, with an
GP>  HONEST look at one's self, one's culture, lifestyle/
GP>  background, etc.


          Yes... I have to chuckle when somebody from an isolated corner of the
earth is asked how they managed to survive to the age of 120(+/-), and they say
they drank a fifth of vodka or smoked a cigar daily.  Many of these people have
spent their whole lives in mountainous and/or farming regions where cultivation
is still done by hand, where everybody keeps working as long as they're able to
... and where the air is clean.  I suspect that makes a difference too....  ;-)



GP>  My doctor has told me to go ahead and have a glass of
GP>  red wine a day


          Uh-huh.  Based on what I've read, that sounds like a pretty good rule
of thumb!  Some experts say white wine is better.  Others say there's something
in the skin of the grape which lowers cholesterol & it doesn't necessarily need
to be fermented.  But most of them seem to agree that wine is more effective in
helping to prevent strokes & heart attacks than other alcoholic beverages.

          It's significant also that you're referring to a modest quantity on a
more or less regular basis & being able to stop when you've reached your limit.
(If you miss a day it's no fair doubling up later.)  I understand Elizabeth the
Queen Mother was partial to a wee dram of gin & Dubonnet around 5:00 PM, to the
extent that her servants had it ready when she was on official duties.  But she
hung in there until she was well over 100... so I won't fault her for it.  :-))



GP>  (& an ounce of dark chocolate!)


          Yes, there was a recent news item about a 15-year study.  The reports
I've seen include certain discrepancies which I find troublesome... otherwise I
would have mentioned it earlier.  In any case the gist of the thing is that the
cacao bean has a positive influence on the circulatory system, at least in male
Dutch persons aged 65+ with no previous history of chronic illness.  When it is
used regularly for some time it also seems to have a cumulative effect....  :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
 * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)