relationship Archives - Curmudgeon Alley

2020/08/12

Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #4,994

yeah I know you did not ask!

If I was being truthful, I would say I really do not understand myself. I have a hard time understanding people in general, but women truly remain a mystery to me.

I had a thought this morning, “I really do not understand women”. I then had a minor epiphany and realized that for the most part I had given trying to understand the fairer sex several years ago. My goal had changed from understanding to just going with the flow. My success rate with that ebbs and flows, sometimes dramatically. However, on the whole, it is a better way of operating. I then went with my ruminations and though how much easier my life would have been if I had discovered this personal axiom of gender relationships some 50 years ago. I suppose that goes under “better late than never”.

Keep well.

2014/05/23

There is a story in here somewhere.

We went to a retirement dinner which was actually breakfast foods. Our protagonist is retiring from a lifetime of teaching elementary school. What makes this interesting in the dime novel sort of way is that our heroine is a late in life lesbian. She and another woman met, became enraptured with each other, and divorced their respective husbands. What followed was tumultuous relation over a period of years. The romantic portion of the relationship did end, but the relationship continues at some level.

What grabbed my attention at the dinner was that we were sitting next to her current girlfriend. Her original girlfriend, now her ex was walking around taking pictures. Both the divorced husbands from above were there. At one point the two gentlemen were visiting with each other.

I can only imagine what would happen if I showed up at my ex’s retirement dinner.

You cannot make this stuff up.

2012/02/012023/12/16

Herman Melville’s Moby Dick

I will not purport to write a review of Herman Melville’s book, Moby Dick or The Whale. For me to do so would be pretentious beyond measure. What I am attempting to do is proselytize for the book. For some reason I missed reading this American classic until now. Truth is I probably would not have appreciated the book when I was younger.

I do have a confession to make though. I did not read the book, but listened to the audio-book which was a several day affair. I spend so much time driving and at times my job is rote, I have found audio-books a wonderful way to fill the time.

What I knew of the book was the story of the obsessed Ahab and his hunt for the malevolent white whale, Moby Dick. To me the book was a documentary with the story of Ahab’s hunt a vehicle for driving the narration forward and keeping the reader engaged. Don’t misunderstand me, Ahab’s story is wonderful and there is much to be learned therein, but it is only part of the book.

The book is in large part a documentary on the Nantucket whaling industry of the 1800s, The Deadliest Catch of its day. It is also the natural history of the cetaceans as was known in 1850. There is chilling passage in the book Continue reading “Herman Melville’s Moby Dick”

2011/11/142011/11/20

My Fair Lady

I’m not a huge show tune fan, but I do enjoy some. I definitely enjoy musical theatre, and the occasional musical film from days of yore. One of my favorites is My Fair Lady starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. I am sure that everyone knows the tale; it is a retelling of the Greek myth of Pygmalion. Who better to retell this tale than Bernard Bernard Shaw?

I watched the movie again this weekend. It had been years since I had seen it. I enjoyed the acting, the music and the movie. While I could not sing all the songs like Robin, I did recognize all the tunes.

The film is from 1964 and the Shaw’s original play was written in 1912. These are certainly different times when it comes to the relationship between men and women in the Western world. I say this because I had forgotten the ending. As it turned out it was very unsatisfying to me. Continue reading “My Fair Lady”

2011/06/062021/01/17

Faces on Meth, A Disturbing Reality

Note: At the bottom of this post you will find a link to view the Faces of Meth.

If you are walking at night and come to the edge of the cliff, the smart thing to do is turn around. If you take another step the result is not likely to be good. Many drugs fall into the same category. To start taking some drugs is like walking up to that cliff edge, only the results are not so veiled. There have been many folks that have gone before you that have crashed and burned on the rocks below.

In the early 70s I lived in Rhode Island. I was single, and occasionally would party with a group of folks. Usually it was beer drinking and some pot. I had an ambivalent relationship with pot. Sometimes it made feel nice and mellow. Sometimes, though, it made me feel depressed and paranoid. I can achieve depression all by my lonesome, and feeling paranoid is no fun. At some point I decided that I did not like rolling the dice with unsure results. So I quit smoking pot. One evening before I quit, I went to visit my party friends. I walked in the house and they were all sitting around the coffee table. Upon the table were needles, a tourniquet, and other heavy duty drug paraphernalia. Continue reading “Faces on Meth, A Disturbing Reality”

2011/05/312011/05/31

Coffee Chatter

My lady friend and I are involved in a bicity relationship. The bicity relationship came up as a result of the economy that resulted with me being laid off in St. Louis. At my age I felt fortunate to find another job in my field…anywhere.

On weekends either I drive to see her in St. Louis or she drives to see me in Memphis. Nearly everybody in my office knows this. I came to work after the three day weekend. The first thing I needed to do was get some java. I was in the break room taking care of task one when one of my teammates walks in.

Making small talk she asked, “How was your weekend?”

I replied, “Fine.”

She then asked, “Did you go to St. Louis?”

“No,” I replied, “St. Louis came here.”

There was a fellow from the other side of the building pouring some coffee. It would have been hard to not listen to the conversation.

He asked, “Who is St. Louis? An exotic dancer?” Continue reading “Coffee Chatter”

2010/01/262010/01/26

Your spouse is being chased by a sweet young thing…

A friend sent me the following via email. An interesting question that was on a reality show recently. Currently, the only thing my TV is hooked up to is a DVD player, and I like it that way. Anyway so I did not see this show.

She said her and her significant other would have handled it much differently.

The question is below:

Ok, you’re at a party with your significant other. Folks at the party know that you’re in a monogamous long term relationship. There are drinks at the party and some folks that you don’t generally hang out with. A younger attractive girl sits on the arm of your chair on the patio. There are several people on the patio. Later, the same girl is talking to you while you are both standing, but is getting a bit closer than casual conversation would dictate. Your choices are:

The significant other comes over and informs the sweet young thing that you are taken.
Significant other sees what is going on and decides to let it pass a chalk it up to too much to drink. She does this knowing that the relationship is secure.
You kindly excuse yourself as soon as it is polite and stay closer to your date.
The significant other goes to the hostess and asks if she could redirect her friend.

How would you have handle the situtation?

2008/04/282008/04/28

Instructions for Life – The Dali Lama

A good friend passed these on to me… Thanks Robin

Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
Follow the three R’s:
- Respect for self
- Respect for others and
- Responsibility for all your actions.
Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
Spend some time alone every day.
Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
In disagreements with loved ones deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
Be gentle with the earth.
Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

2000/01/032014/11/26

Word of the Day – Avuncular

Adjective:
1. of or relating to an uncle.
2. of or relating to the relationship between men and their siblings’ children
3. suggestive of an uncle especially in kindliness or geniality
Adverb
1. avuncularly
Noun
1. avuncularity
Synonyms:
1. counseling
2. helping
3. benevolent
4. amiable
Usage:
1. The avuncular CPA did not bat an eye when his client dumped a shoebox full of receipts on his desk.
Encountered:
1. It was a an interview on TV, but for the sake me I can not remember who was being interviewed and who was interviewing.