05-03-05  12:24, Ardith Hinton told James Bradley about Pluggin' Along...  2.

 How do, Ardith?

 JB>  You frisky little devil, Ardith! Navigator, eh? I
 JB>  don't know if I would have the scruples to do that.

 AH> Well... from what you've told me about your adventures with
 AH> a  bicycle, I imagine our preferred learning styles are 
 AH> different.  You'd enjoy the physical challenge of a speed 
 AH> stage in which the objective is to find out how quickly you 
 AH> can hurl a vehicle around a bend on a gravel road because 
 AH> you learn primarily by doing.  I was content to take the 
 AH> supportive role of interpreting maps, watching for 
 AH> landmarks, and calculating how many light years are in a 
 AH> leap year because I learn primarily by reading & 
 AH> observation.  I recognize the names of many roads I saw 
 AH> little of, however, because it was my job to relay the 
 AH> instructions....  ;-)
 
You're off the hook! "Light years in a leap year..." 

The one thing I never forgot from my bicycle escapades, is to never try to
repeat the same mistake that lead me to the emergency ward. It never
stopped me from topping the last stupid thing by another notch, but I
learned quickly what didn't feel too good. Come to think about it, it was
more a "crash" course in how to bandage, and care for wounds than
anything. After I had concused twice, I leaarned to try keep my whits about
me after the sudden stops, and became adapt at hiding the evidence from the
parents - once I learned how gaping wounds are treated. 

I guess growing up on one of the steeper residencial streets in this city
teaches a kid more than how to serpentine a bike home after a tough day at
the office. I watched some of those uphill climes, and didn't like seeing
some of the offroad jaunts that people almost went on. I knew from personal
experience on a bike that they wouldn't feel too good, even *with* all the
harnesses, and roll-bars. I'm afraid I wouldn't even go in the *back* seat,
Ardith.

 AH> Yup.  I go on being myself, knowing it will
 AH> probably come into fashion sooner or later.  I think I've 
 AH> gained some perspective over the years... [grin].
 
<-;
 
 JB>  I've had to reel myself back from a lot of ideas,
 JB>  but I tend to relish that approach, than stifling
 JB>  my creativity. Heck, there's enough people to
 JB>  shoot you down. Why should I do their job too? 

 AH> Makes sense to me!  I enjoy playing with ideas, and I'm
 AH> generally  open to further input.  I can see where you may have 
 AH> problems with people who like to wrap things up more 
 AH> quickly, however... I certainly do.  It's a classic 
 AH> conflict in reasoning styles.  Here's an anecdote to 
 AH> illustrate what I mean:

I guess I also quickly learned how to drive mom NUTS! (HAPPY MOTHERS DAY, BTW! ]|-)

 AH> Dallas & I went to an unfamiliar store to get an estimate on
 AH> repairing an old clock my mother wanted my cousin to have.  
 AH> My mother is now deceased & my cousin lives on a sailboat 
 AH> with which she's exploring the southern hemisphere at 
 AH> present... so she's not sure whether she wants us to sell 
 AH> it or keep it for her. This clock belonged to my grandmother, who was
 AH> also  her grandmother.  Like other clocks of a similar age it has 
 AH> the maker's name & city painted on the dial.  I'd grown up 
 AH> with the clock but couldn't remember the name of the city.  
 AH> The letters are quite faded.  As I was holding various 
 AH> pieces while Dallas photographed them I was able to see it 
 AH> more closely & exclaimed delightedly "Oh... Barnsley!"  The 
 AH> store clerk bustled up to us, said "That's a t," and 
 AH> bustled away again.  When I looked even more closely I saw 
 AH> that it was an l with two parallel scratches just to the 
 AH> right.  I had recognized the name because my mother used to 
 AH> write letters to a woman in "Darton nr. Barnsley", and I 
 AH> found the address very amusing when I was a child.  My 
 AH> grandmother came from within about a hundred miles of 
 AH> Barnsley. It's listed in the various atlases I consulted at 
 AH> home, too... "Barnstey" isn't.

Maybe Barnstey is also a manufacturer, and she just assumed your clock
might be made by them?

 AH> Such details are of no consequence to the person whose mind
 AH> is  already made up & who has the attention span of a goldfish, 
 AH> i.e. about three seconds.  I didn't bother to argue with 
 AH> the clerk because I may never see her again.  She is an 
 AH> extreme example... but I find such examples very 
 AH> educational.  She could well be the sort of person with 
 AH> whom you often find yourself biting your tongue, as I do.  
 AH> I resent being "corrected" by folks who issue 
 AH> pronouncements about persons, places, things & ideas 
 AH> without really looking at them.  OTOH, they get irritated 
 AH> with me because I'm still collecting data after they've 
 AH> lost interest... (sigh).
 
Ya... What're you gonna do?

Dad and I live in seperate halfs of a duplex. As such, we haven't fenced
off the yards, and I was planing and executing the landscape design. This
began when I was a *much* younger lad, and I hadn't been diagnosed yet. I
relished the challenge, and greatly enjoyed the exersize.

Once my operations began, the exersize became more and more of a chore, and
finally I just couldn't get out of bed, let alone do the laundry. An
ex-coworker and her husband were helping us to finish the work I had
started, but just couldn't get with the program. I knew what needed to be
done in order to stop encroaching grasses from invading a planting bed, but
I got the feeling the two of them, and my father pooled their brains and
conspired to go against my better judgment. By this time, I had read quite
a bit about horticulture, and organic farming, but their trust remained in
their congregated ignorance.

Well, not raking the leaves off every fall drove dad up the wall, and his
thought of weed control was to pull off the tops of the weeds on the
hottest day of the year. When I'd pull them on a wet day, I could see the
steam coming out of his ears! They threw all sorts of money into the area
for potted goods, and I'm still fighting with crabgrass. Most of their
planting never really survived past year #2, and just yesterday, I was able
to do the major deed I asked the 'helpfull' pair to do, and again, I could
feel the winds of distain coming from dad. Some people are set in their
ways, and no matter how much proof, or outide knowledge you throw at them,
they are always going to be right in their own minds.
 
 JB>  I've found the real chore is to locate friends who can call
 JB>  you on your crap, and have a good laugh about it later.


 AH> I'd like to think you've just located one... me.  :-))

Aw, *shucks!*

Right back at ya!!!

Again... Happy mothers' day!



... James

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