Germs

Some recent health-related posts on social media reminded of a poem by Ogden Nash that I heard many years ago.

The Germ

A mighty creature is the germ,

Though smaller than the pachyderm.

His customary dwelling place

Is deep within the human race.

His childish pride he often pleases

By giving people strange diseases.

Do you, my poppet, feel infirm?

You probably contain a germ.

Though smaller than the pachyderm, these little guys sometimes do “sit on our chests” and make it difficult for us to breathe.

Here’s to hoping a germ doesn’t come to dwell before Thursday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Clipart from Clker

The Introversion Craze

Thanks, Susan Cain for raising the status of introverts with your book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, and, in the process, creating a condition I call, “Introvert Envy.” Now that people are aware that admired people such as Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mother Teresa, Bill Gates, Barack Obama, Albert Einstein, Barbara Walters, Meryl Streep, and Tom Hanks are introverts, many extroverts are relentless in their quest to secure a place amongst introverts.

Having been unwillingly subjected to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) during a degree-seeking period in my life, I know well the humiliation of being looked upon as an anti-social navel-gazer when that big “I” was revealed during a peer evaluation activity. Thanks to Cain, the dreaded “I” designation is now highly coveted.

Extroverts claim they qualify as introverts if they like to read books, enjoy some alone time, or sometimes listen to others. Never mind that these same people love being the center of conversations, thrive on public performances, interrupt others mid-sentence so they can share their more important thoughts, and can never be contacted because they are always on the go.

Despite the fact that Jungian Theory in no way supports the notion that one can change from extrovert to introvert through declaration, choosing to believe is apparently the only validation these pretenders need.

One might hope that since so many extroverts now want to become one of us introverts, the status of introverts has now been raised. Think again every time you hear one of the pretenders say, “He/she needs to be more outgoing (friendly, gregarious, affable, genial, jovial, cheerful, lively, etc.).”

Christmas is just a few weeks away. I choose to believe that Santa Clause will come down my chimney with a new car. White. Small. Good fuel economy.

Clipart: Free Desktop

Fall Storm

Our weather here in Kansas has turned cool and the dark clouds of fall remind us that winter will soon arrive. This sudden change in the weather sent me to my files to find a picture I took of an early fall storm in the Colorado mountains. My favorite pictures always seem to be the dark ones with a lot of contrast.

I know that many people change colors and contrast in an attempt to enhance the pictures they take. In my opinion, the beauty of Colorado cannot be digitally improved.

If I were to find a similar picture in a gallery, I think it might be titled, “Wrath.”

Two More Days

The little wooden character, Pinocchio, was introduced to the world in 1883 by Italian storywriter, Carlo Collodi. I heard often about Pinocchio during my childhood and I actually believed that telling a lie would cause one’s nose to grow. However, election season has again confirmed for me that the stories of my childhood were nothing more than cautionary tales told to frighten children and, in the process, shape their behavior.

I have learned over the years that if the noses of tellers of falsehoods grew with each lie, even by the smallest fraction, politicians would need to have carts designed for the purpose of transporting their noses.

I’m really quite fed up with fake smiles, insincere promises, misrepresentations, deceit, outright lies, and unsolicited telephone calls.

Tuesday will come. Tuesday will come. Tuesday WILL come!

Clker Clipart