normal

The trouble with weather forecasting is that it’s right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it.  Aunt Audrey says—That is about how I feel when I read “It’s Saturday.” It’s about a 50-50 shot at best. Well bust my butt!

You hear folks say—It’s my new normal. We all have new normals because of many reasons; sometimes we have no choice (e.g. pandemic); sometimes we create new normals because we choose tooooo.  It’s just part of life.  Some new normals we like better than others.  Some new normals we have developed through time and some just happen instantly.  Such is life.

A friend said to me at breakfast recently—It’s their normal but maybe not your normal erv. That is just how folks react to you or to others; that is their normal; soooo erv, don’t get sooo excited if they don’t react the way you would or expect. You might not understand their normal but that is their normal (i.e. you might think they are wacko but they might think you are wacko, soooo there). Their normal might be way different than your normal in how they live their lives or what their family dynamics are or how they treat you and others, or how they spend their money or how they dress, or what they do for fun, or how much TV they watch etc. You get it.  Joesixpack, who is basically a 50-50 chance, says--There is a difference in normal for different folks.  Don’t kid yourself.

Who are you anyway?  I read while eating my oatmeal with a half a banana on it that--Charles Darwin said man is an animal. Sigmund Freud taught that man is a spoiled child. Karl Marx believed man is an economic factor. Saturday question—Soooo who are you do you think; your evaluation of yourself might be skewed, I’m warning you (e.g. some folks might think very highly of themselves but others don’t or vice versa).  Holy smokes! Soooo who is normal anyway? Normal compared to who (i.e. like a radical republican or a radical democrat; a grizzly bear or a pet kiddy cat).

You like sensations?  We all probably have good sensations and bad sensations I would guess.  Think a second of some of your best sensations and some of your worse.  I would guess some sensations we have would be normal to all of us for sure (e.g. eating ice cream).  SusieQ says--Sometimes I can’t recreate a certain sensation quite the same as it was the first time I experienced it.  I was reading an obit in the paper (i.e. I have no idea why I read this lady’s obit but I did).  It said one of her favorite things she liked to do in life (i.e. one of her sensations) was to go to the Riverview Cafe in Shell Rock and have breakfast (i.e. a little rural town deep in Butler County).  Huh, interesting!  Sooooo I contacted a friend and asked if he was interested in going there for breakfast but taking his Corvette (i.e. I never rode in a Corvette).  Soooo we did.  The whole experience was a hoot! On the way back I asked him to stop on the county road and show me how fast his Corvette was.  He did; we took off fish tailing and screaming down the road; my head snapped back and then he let up on the gas; he asked how fast I thought we were going; I said 82; he said a hundred; wow, what a sensation sitting 8-10 inches off the road and going 100 mph! What a great time I had. Using the words of SamrfromMI--I’m going to get myself one of these!!!! haha

I didn’t think a friend was normal (i.e. different from his normal normal it seeeemed).  He seemed different.  I was with a mutual friend and said I noticed him not being his normal—I know exactly what you are going to say—you do—go ahead and tell me what you think—I think he has changed and is more positive than he has ever been in all the years I have known him—exactly!  What is going on here folks.  I read in one of my morning devotions that we can’t change anyone; they need to do that themselves and if they don’t want to change, they won’t and we aren’t going to change them no matter how hard we try.  Yikes! Such is life.

A friend has some chickens for his grandkids; it seems to be a modern, popular trend in our culture.  He admits it is rather crazy and a lot of work.  ANYWAY, he thought he had tooooo many chickens soooo he got rid of a few.  One of the chickens he got rid of was this old, fat hen that was soooo fat that just she waddled when she walked.  And she is a real bossy old hen; she rules the roast. When she wants to lay an egg, she picks at another hen who is in the nest she wants and all the chickens make a lot of noise and she disrupts the whole chicken house.  When she wants to eat, she demands like she is the queen.  After he got rid of her, all the other chickens are much happier and actually the egg production has gone up!  Now there might be a moral to that story!  haha

Many times awards and applause are given for how great folks are; it’s done all the time.  And many times those folks deserve them and all the attention. There are a lot of good folks for sure. BUT there are many unsung folks who don’t get their picture in the paper or get recognition who are really great folks; many of such folks are you guys (i.e. you don’t toot your own horn or even seek attention but are some of the greatest). Many folks like you are appreciated by many (i.e. you are great in many folks’ eyes).  I notice you as well as others.  BUT that is normal; it’s always been that way and always will be.  WorldClassLarry says—Many great folks are ones who are unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet are the most valuable assets in our society (i.e. he’s talking about many of you folks except for one of you and you know who you are). Soooo don’t get discouraged.  Okay?

Last Saturday morning I stopped at Coral Ridge Maul in Iowa City to buy some shoes.  The store wasn’t open yet soooo I made a few laps; I haven’t been in this maul for years.  I yawned and a lady who was also walking said to me—you must be tired—must be. We smiled at each other and walked on.  I bought my shoes now that the store was open and since it was raining outside decided to made a few more laps.  I met the same lady again—are you still walking—yep, I walk two hours every morning except Sundays when I go to church—what time do you get up—this morning it was 3:30 as my dog woke me up but usually about 4 or soooo; mornings are the best part of the day—what time did you get up—oh, this morning I got up a 5 as I had a 2-hour drive to get here—what are you doing here anyway—seeing an old college friend who is in a care facility—you must be a nice guy—I don’t know about that. She told me that her husband died after a 15-year battle with cancer, and I said to her—You must be a nice lady—I try; I try to be nice to everyone—are you going home and taking a nap—no no, I don’t believe in naps—what time to you go to bed—early! Is she a normal person based on your normal?  That is what I thought. Hey Lynn, if you read this, my email address is ervmellema@gmail.com I would like to know more about you.  Yes, I would.

Sometimes we don’t always see reality very well.  We need to magnify the situation to see it clearly.  And sometimes we don’t want to see reality clearly.  I had breakfast with a friend, and he told me that many times we don’t talk about reality; we are just not being real; it’s not politically correct or we don’t want to hurt folks’ feelings soooo we mush over it; it happens all the time; we don’t address reality; we side step it.  I could give you examples that are very pertinent, but I would make most of you irate with me (i.e. tooooo real) soooo why would I want to do that; seeee)! I had to find my iPad’s serial number that was on the back of the device, but it was soooooo small that I couldn’t read it.  I put my prescription bifocals on but still toooo small; I tried taking a pic of it with my iPhone and then zooming it, but it was blurry.  Growing up a mile and fourth south of Roseland, MN we had to be creative as we didn’t have all the best.  Soooo I put my bifocals on again and put a pair of Dollar General’s cheater glasses over the bifocals (i.e. double magnified it) and bingo, I could read it.  Sometimes we need to be creative to see reality.  BUT most of the time we don’t like reality a.k.a. the truth (i.e. we would rather fake it by pretending there is no reality)!  Ouchy ouchy! That seems normal in our society (i.e. we don’t seem to like to call a spade a spade). That’s seems normal! Such is life. Oh by the way, I texted my friend this message--I sure enjoy your perspective of life my friend. You seem to get it; as far as I'm concerned!

This came from a millennial friend (i.e. I like this guy) who is in the minority (i.e. a rare bird for sure—he’s not normal it appears as he is a saver and planner)—60% of millennials earning over $100,000 say they are living from paycheck to paycheck.  These millennials are known as HENRY’S—high earners, not rich yet—prefer a comfy lifestyle, but a new survey shows that things can get tight!

A friend is a real estate developer and builder. One high end client is suing him for the grading at a house.  He doesn’t think there is anything wrong with the grading.  He took pictures along with other evidence to his attorney trying to prove that there is no damage.  His attorney said to him—You are going to lose; there is no way you can win (i.e. reality); my advice is we start working on how you can minimize your loss!  I would guess no matter if he is right or wrong, it doesn’t make any difference, sometimes a person is just going to lose; the odds are against ya (i.e. worse than 50-50); it’s part of doing business or living (i.e. it really doesn’t make any difference what you think—take your medicine and move forward). Suck it up cupcake and let’s get going. We’re burning daylight! MyoldneighborKarl use to say—If it has wheels, you know you are going to have trouble with it! JoeSmart says—I have a tradition of moving forward.

I had breakfast with a MN friend recently.  He just had a hip replaced.  He walks with a limp which is probably normal this soon after a replacement, but he thinks his doctor didn’t put his leg back on straight as he is pigeon toed with his leg that got the replaced hip!  He made my look at it and asked what I thought.  He does look pigeon toed. I told him folks who are pigeon toed can run faster, soooo there ya go even though it doesn’t look normal. He gets all the breaks! At 75, that’s just what he wants to do, run faster.  This guy does move fast though!  He’s a shaker and a maker let me tell ya!

RickyRick says—"A lot of people say, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it!’ God says the exact opposite is true: ‘You’ll see it when you first believe it.’ Many things in life must be believed before they can be seen. It is a universal principle of life: You have to believe it before you see it. When you have faith, you will see the amazing things God is doing in you, through you, and around you.” Do you believe that? That is what I thought; you are normal!

Do you like to be around folks who disagree with you?  I sorta kinda do as I can learn a lot from them; ask them questions.  BUT it seems that most folks can’t “agree to disagree” and would rather not be around folks who think differently than they do. I seem to think some of the greatest folks get along very well with folks who have different ideas than they do but can discuss with them in a compatible way.  Abraham Lincoln was a great example of this.  He would listen to other folks’ opinions in a very genuine way.  Maybe I’m abnormal in thinking like I do but I like and love a lot of folks who I disagree with; we get along just great (i.e. but it helps when I’m only right about 50% of the time).  LuckieEddie says—I like to get along with folks who I always don’t agree with tooooo, erv, except for my brother-in-law who always thinks he’s right; he is difficult to be around; I think his wife is even sick of him; she seems to just ignore him; anyway, she sure excuses herself a lot to go to the bathroom but then again she might have a real bladder problem!

What I say is pretty much a 50-50% at best as to if you will pay any attention toooo it.  I understand (i.e. you are normal).  Here is what Dale Carnegie said (i.e. maybe you might pay attention at a 51-49% at best to Mr. Carnegie). Maybe to make your normal much more enjoyable, more than that % would take a 4^th of July fireworks show; you are normal for sure—"I’ve found that worry and irritation vanish into thin air the moment I open my mind to the many blessings I possess.” 

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyFriendJean said—Snobs aren't born, they are created.

The tip of the day comes from just over the western banks of the Muddy Missouri River in Omaha, the home of onesmartguywithagoodheart.