Post something that explains a lot about you.

[Cabcere]

I'm not talking about anything really serious here (although, if you want to go that route, that's fine too) - I was just thinking about a couple of weird quirks I have, and how they were brought on by seemingly minor events from my childhood. :shrug: So, share if you dare! :D I'll go first:

1) I started reading Dave Barry books at the age of six, which, I believe, is a major contributing factor to the severely warped sense of humor that I possess today. :D

2) Also, I have no sense of direction. I blame that on the fact that, for an embarrassingly long time, I actually thought that sun rose in the west (and set in the east) because of this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mdw1szEOccs

To this day, I still sometimes have to mentally play the first line in my head and then reverse it to get it right. :blush: (To be fair, the first time I heard that song I was probably about three or four years old, and didn't understand the concept of irony - or, for that matter, any of the other contextual references in the song, either.) :hi:

[Inchworm]

1. I was a wandering carpenter for several years

I love watching people being people, good or bad.

:hi:

[Cabcere]

7. That sounds really neat!

I enjoy people-watching as well...we really are a fascinating species, aren't we? :hi:

[Rabrrrrrr]

21. And then you were crucified?

:rofl:

[Inchworm]

27. in a sense

but it was practically a self-inflicted crucifixion.

:rofl:

[GOPisEvil]

2. I have a fear of ladders thanks to my dad.

He had this old, rickety ladder that wobbled. When I was a wee lad, he put me on top of it and proceeded to shake it. It freaked me out and I have issues with ladders to this day. I CAN climb up ladders now, but I can't step off a ladder onto, say, a roof. I freeze up.

[Cabcere]

5. Oh, no!

:scared: That is really scary - I think I'd be freaked out, too! :hug:

[RadiationTherapy]

31. Shit!! I did that to my daughter last summer.

Damn.

[Godhumor]

93. I have a fear of ladders, too

The odd thing is, I'm a rock climber. I just hate how vulnerable you are on the ladder. I can climb them, and I have used them; I still hate them with a passion.

Also, my orthodontist died falling from his ladder while cleaning his gutters. I don't think that incident helped my aversion.

[Lorien]

112. Some fears really aren't at all irrational

I have a huge tear in the back of my thigh from a fall off a ladder. My grandfather also died not long after he fell off one. I say don't climb one unless it's something that's absolutely critical (like saving a life)! Otherwise, leave the ladders to the professionals.

[DarkTirade]

3. I started reading Hardy Boys books in 1st grade.

My favorate books growing up were mostly sci-fi, fantasy, and a few of the stranger classic children's books like Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass.

[Cabcere]

6. I used to love those books.

:D Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, the Bobbsey Twins...good times. :hi:

[DarkTirade]

8. I never read the Bobbsey Twins

but I did read The Boxcar Children and The Three Investigators. :)

[Cabcere]

10. Oh man, The Boxcar Children!

:) My best friend and I used to make up our own Boxcar Children adventures, lol. I don't think I ever read The Three Investigators, though... :shrug:

[harmonicon]

81. I think I read every Three Investigators book

Man, I thought they were so cool. At the time (1980s) I didn't realize how completely weird and out of date so many of the stories were, but that's how it goes. Cool dudes solving mysteries.. it doesn't get much better than that for an 8 - 12 year old.

[DarkTirade]

95. Yeah, I didn't discover them until the 90s

and I didn't care how out of date they were. :)

[Ptah]

4. I had fun pushing my brother in the swing:

[Cabcere]

9. That looks like a lot of fun

:D :hi:

[SPKrazy]

11. I grew up as a non-Mormon in a 95% Mormon Community

I got rejection issues, okay?

:hi:

[Cabcere]

12. Aww...

...well, you will never be rejected by me, SPK! :hug: :grouphug: :pals: :hi:

[SPKrazy]

17. I've found

that no one can make those kinds of promises, but I appreciate the sentiment :hug:

[Cabcere]

19. In that case...

...I will never intentionally try to make you feel unwelcome or rejected, OK? :hug: :pals: :yourock:

[SPKrazy]

25. I believe that you mean that

and for today, it is true as with anything else, tomorrow can change everything.

:hug:

:yourock:

[Cabcere]

28. ...

:hug: You're awesome, SPK. :toast: :pals:

[SPKrazy]

29. dunno

but thanks

:hug:

[lost-in-nj]

13. I have found out tonight

i am an asshole



lost

we live and learn

[Cabcere]

15. Honey, you are anything but that.

:hug: You're like the anti-asshole! :P

Seriously, you seem like one of the sweetest, coolest people ever...and I'm no Skittles, but if you need somebody's ass kicked for saying that about you...well, just sayin'. :hug: :pals: :yourock:

[Inchworm]

22. Nope

Not true.

You are super!

:hug::loveya::hug:

[Haole Girl]

23. I think we need Skittles....

someone needs to kick some ass?

:hug:

[Inchworm]

30. We need a Skittles "Bat Signal" sort of thing

:)

[SPKrazy]

26. far from it

:hug:

[Lorien]

39. You never have been one, you never will be one.

:hug:

[Haole Girl]

14. Ok

I was born with clubfoot (both feet). In Spain, in the early 60's, they put casts from my feet to my upper thighs. I don't have any baby pics of those first couple of months. Then came braces... then the corrective shoes. My parents tried their best to help...they made me take Ballet (which was excruciatingly painful at four), roller skating, etc. I was teased pretty mercilessly as a child (all through elementary school).

It got better, progressively, as I grew older. Though, once, when I was in college, a group of students watched me walk toward them. When I got to their table, one of them exclaimed, "You're pigeon toed!!!" I looked at her, with the coldest stare, and simply said, "Yes!" It was the end of the discussion. I think that was the last time I was teased about it.

Well, I didn't mean to ramble on and on... but it is one reason I don't take being "made fun of" very well.

Whew... THAT was rather revealing!!

:blush:

[Cabcere]

16. Wow, that must have been really difficult.

:hug: I can't even imagine what that must have been like, but I am glad that you were able to deal with all of those challenges, and that it is better now! :pals: :yourock:

[Haole Girl]

18. It's funny....

Deep inside, I know it explains a lot about me. But I rarely even think about it! Thanks...
and...

:yourock: :hug: :pals:

[theredpen]

20. I once shot a man just for snoring

OK, seriously...

In 1986, there was an online discussion as to whether or not the Internet needed a mechanism for preventing certain individuals from posting on forums. I was mentioned by name.

[Cabcere]

24. Remind me never to sleep with you...

...er, that didn't come out quite right, did it? :blush: :rofl:

That's really interesting. I'm glad that particular mechanism wasn't enacted, though! :pals: :hi:

[Oeditpus Rex]

32. I first saw 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' in late 1975

[Lorien]

43. That's freaking awsome!

any particular memories of it?

[Oeditpus Rex]

50. Yeah

I didn't get it. :shrug:



But I was oddly compelled to keep watching. Maybe I knew, somehow, that it would one day be my salvation.



Oh, and I wanted to get some friends together and climb the east face of South Main Street. :D

[RainDog]

33. I grew up

in the south, in the buckle of the Bible belt, as a Southern Baptist. I was supposed to remain a virgin until I got married. I didn't. I wasn't supposed to "live in sin" with my boyfriend (later husband of 17 yrs.) My dad called me some very nasty names and "disowned" me until my ex and I got married.

This is a large part of the reason that I am hostile toward religion and the south - I think they were hostile to me. It wasn't just my dad, btw. It was the entire church community... church after church after church. My bro. still believes his daughter should remain a virgin until marriage and that living together would be out of the question. I don't see my brother often.

I think this is also why I prefer Europe to the U.S. (and one part of why I married a European, most likely.)

[Cabcere]

44. Ouch - I am sorry you had to put up with that.

:hug: I've been relatively lucky in terms of churches - even though I live in the south and a lot of people are really conservative here, the churches my family has gone to over the years tend to be pretty open-minded. I can certainly understand your hostility, though - that is no way to treat people, but unfortunately it seems to be accepted behavior in a lot of places. x(

[Lorien]

55. That type of situation is hard for me to imagine, but I know that many DUers

grew up in similar communities and reacted much as you did to it. My parents were atheists when I was a kid, and dad was a sex therapist. We were given condoms in our stockings at Christmas when we were teenagers-a far cry from the repression dished out in many parts of the South.

My mom became a born again when I was in college, but my father never changed. That whole Southern Baptist thing is just surreal! The "willing suspension of disbelief" required is very taxing. I can see why you would want to get as far away from a community filled with that as quickly as you could.

Just out of curiosity; have you lived in Europe, or have you considered moving to your husband's home country?

[RainDog]

74. willing suspension of belief

is only taxing if you have it questioned. my brother is an engineer...he never had to question beliefs. The fundie church my bro. attends is full of engineers and nurses and doctors and they do not question their beliefs...because they know their beliefs are "real."

my husband is no longer my husband, tho we are now on pretty good terms... we are both very dedicated to our children's well being. we lived in Belgium (where he's from) in 93/94 b/c he was able to take a year to work there with ppl he still works with- they come here, he goes there. Our kids were in preschool/kgarden - they hated it, but they like to go there now to visit family.

I'm still on good terms with my ex's family (I like them as much as most of my own...) and last summer my ex b-i-l and his wife were in the U.S. and came by, sat out in the yard, drank a bottle of wine they'd brought, and they told me to please come to Belgium and stay with them whenever I'd like. So, yeah, I still have some ties to that part of the world. My ex has a daughter who's about a decade older then my sons and I still see her when she's here too.

but my preference started before that. When I was graduated from high school I went on a student trip overseas and felt like I was "at home." Not that I was, but it was weird... and most probably b/c so much of my studies had been about european history, lit, etc. When the student group was on the airplane back to the U.S. and we landed at Dulles, all these other kids cheered on the plane. I started crying.

[Lorien]

83. I know what you mean about feeling "at home" in Europe

I've always felt that way as well, even when I was in places where I really couldn't speak the language at all. Someday I hope that I'll also have the privilege of living there-even if it's just for a little while. I'm sure that it's given you a unique perspective, though perhaps it's made the past seven years seem even MORE surreal!

[RainDog]

94. Surreal for EVERYONE

I honestly could never have imagined that where we are now is where we would be after the stolen 2000 election. Gore was my Senator, too, so I was especially pissed at the misrepresentations about him. He didn't carry his state b/c his state is full of fundies. No democrat will carry a state in the south as long as the repukes give fundies a place to continue to be their racist, sexist, hateful retrograde selves.

...and I tried to post a message earlier but my computer timed out for whatever... but I have to tell you that you are such a beautiful woman. I totally understand the hurt that comes from asshole kids, but you really are not seeing yourself when you say you cannot look at yourself. You're seeing them.

And beauty isn't just exterior. Your experience has opened your heart to others' suffering...compassion for others is the only reason I can understand suffering... as a way to give it some form to make sense in our lives. Organizing our worlds so that we can make sense of the senseless.

I think quite a few Americans feel an affinity with European nations... not just b/c our ancestors came from there. When James Baldwin was there before WWII, he said he lived, for the first time, among white people who didn't hate and judge him for the color of his skin. Langston Hughes too. -- an expatriate community of African-Americans. I cannot even imagine how transformational such an experience would have been... I know it a little, but I don't have a whole history of race hatred to deal with simply as a part of my existence on this earth.

anyway... we'll have to plan a DU field trip to Paris. I always said if I won the lottery I would take off time to visit all the great museums of Europe. ah, dreams...

[Lorien]

109. I haven't heard it phrased that way before

"you really are not seeing yourself when you say you cannot look at yourself. You're seeing them." I suppose that some bullying comes from the insecurities of the bully, and others are simply sociopathic sadists (like Bush and his gang). It's kind of tough because they weren't just at school-they were at home too. My mother was pretty unhappy back then. She was also very beautiful (a face like Grace Kelly), and would sometimes, in weaker moments, bemoan the fact that I looked to her like "a retarded ape" and that I seemed like the living embodiment of all her greatest failures. My dad and sister would always make jokes about my appearance. My father felt that if I could learn to laugh about it then it would take the sting out when others said anything cruel. Maybe he was right, but I wasn't able to do that as a kid. They probably felt pretty helpless about it back then because there was really nothing they could do-and they had so many troubles of their own to deal with. I was also wearing coke bottle thick glasses and the time (legally blind without contacts or glasses), was so pale and white haired that I was sometimes mistaken for an albino, and had terrible teeth. A trifecta on top of the deformity!

Yeah, I got an inking about how bad things were about to become in America when I worked the polls here in a mostly black district in Florida in 2000. I've written about it before, and Greg Palast also wrote about my account. A white cop was bullying voters. They tried to shut the polls down early, tried to tell everyone that they had come to the wrong place to vote when they had not. Forced church buses full of voters to unload because they could not produce a "taxi license", and on and on. Democratic party officials down here told the press everything, but only overseas media paid any attention. I had never been much of one for conspiracies before that-I had thought that what happened here may have been an isolated incidence...but obviously it wasn't. Like you, I never could have imagined everything that has happened since. I really don't know if we will be able to really make America what it once was again. I hope that it's still possible, but I'm afraid that will take some major upheavals.

A DU field trip to Paris would be sweet! I've always thought that if every American could just spend a few weeks over there our National philosophies on so much would change for the better. Such a phenomenal city! My favorite so far, bar none. I've been there six times but I still haven't seen more than one wing of the Louvre. Interesting bit of trivia; if you were to see every item of art in that museum and read every plaque it would take you 3 1/2 months to see the entire collection!



:hug: :loveya:

[dolo amber]

34. When I was litte I used to habitually sniff, and by some accounts chew on, my mom's Zippo

:shrug:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

35. Off the top of my head:

I can memorize a lot of visual information, as well as music/lyrics, down to the smallest nuance.

In some weird way, it does explain a lot about me.

[Cabcere]

45. That's pretty cool.

:) I feel like that would be a useful skill to have...although I don't know, maybe it could get to be a bit much at times? :shrug: :hi:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

58. Oh, it definitely is.

I can memorize anything, but I have no filter, so everything frequently collides with itself. :rofl:

[mwdem]

36. I moved away from my children 2 1/2 years ago...after that..

went through 2 cancers, surgery twice, chemo, baldness, sickness, survivor...still miss my kids. Will be a grandparent in Sept., and can't wait, but miss my daughter very much now. It was her birthday yesterday, the first day of Spring, and we totally celebrated Easter, not for religious purposes, but shared birthday week, and the beginning of newness.

[Breeze54]

40. Are you going to move back soon, I hope?

:hug:

You need them and they need you.

I wish you wellness and peace..... :hug:

I hope you find your path home.

[mwdem]

47. Thanks, sweetie...

they're close, within a 7 1/2 mile driving distance, less than 2 hours away by flight. Texas is not where I want to spend my final days, but the weather is great! We haven't establishted yet where "home" is right now, but we are all working on it. My daughter's an east coast girl, I'm from N.C., my son grew up in N.J., and we're all scattered right now, but things will settle down soon. My health may rest on it. I'm so trying to figure out where home is right now. I miss my kids so much right now, and I think I am "home" right now.

[Breeze54]

64. "7 1/2 mile driving distance, less than 2 hours away by flight"?!?

Home is where the heart is... it's not a 'place'... :hug:

Artist: Steve Earle

Song: 'Comin' Around'

Album: Revolution Starts Now

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Steve Earle & Allison Moorer (his wife):

Coming Around
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cuv1bAn6tY

(with Emmylou Harris)

Early this mornin’ I was washin’ my face
Thinkin’ ‘bout goin’ to town
Sick and tired of hangin’ around this place
Waitin’ on the blues to track me down
Bless my soul maybe I’m comin’ around
Been lyin’ low but maybe I’m comin’ around

I’ve been runnin’ nearly all of my life
Far and as fast as I can
It may sound funny but I’m thinkin’ this might
Be about right where I came in
Well I don’t know maybe I’m comin’ around
Got a ways to go but maybe I’m comin’ around
Finally layin’ my burden down

One fine day
I’ll be free
‘Til it comes
I’ll go on

My heart’s a little ragged but it’s all that I got
So I’m gonna give it a try
Look out world I’m comin’ ready or not
I don’t wanna let you pass me by
Here I go maybe I’m comin’ around
I’m a little bit slow but maybe I’m comin’ around
Finally layin’ my burden down


:hug: :cry: :hug:

[mwdem]

70. Gotcha!

Our whole famiy is scattered right now (son's working in L.A.) and, for some reason, we're really feeling the homesickness, but home, for me is in my house. I'll see my baby girl next month, come hell or high water (whitch is nearer than we think!).

[Breeze54]

73. Just so you know,

my sons are also 'scattered'. Two in Illinois and I'm in MA with my youngest. I wish, we too,
could just drive over to each others houses and have coffee or I could plan a holiday dinner
with all their girlfriends and significant others. It would be so nice! *sigh* It's hard, I know...

[mwdem]

79. At least your one son is back and safe.

I wish your family peace in this uncertain time. The future is no longer ours!

[Breeze54]

80. He's back but not near me....

I wish the same for you and yours. :hug:

[Cabcere]

49. Wow - you have been through a lot in such a short amount of time!

:hug: I am very glad you're still with us. :) Congratulations on the upcoming grandbaby, and I hope you get to spend some quality time with your daughter! :hug:

[mwdem]

54. I can't wait for the grand baby!

Even though I'll be a young grandmother (whatever), at least I'll be around to influence his/her life somewhat! Thank you for your comments. I'm planning to see the "baby bump" next month.:hi:

[Cabcere]

59. My great-grandmother became a grandmother at 41

and I am so grateful that I got to know her for fifteen years of my life. :) It is a wonderful thing to be able to give that gift to somebody, I think. :pals: Best wishes to you and your growing family! :hi:

[mwdem]

60. Thank you, and good night!

:hug:

[Initech]

37. I have watched every episode of the Simpsons since day one.

Also Seinfeld, but I started watching that show about 3 seasons in.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

38. I am left handed.

:hi:

[Cabcere]

52. And that's even a left-handed smiley!

:hi: :D I've always thought it would be cool to be left-handed. My brother and one of my best friends are both lefties, and I've always been a little bit jealous. :) They assure me it's not really worth all the hassle of having to deal with right-handed...just about everything, actually, but I still think it would be kind of cool. (In fact - and this is how much of a nerd I am - when I was in high school, I tried to train myself to write with my left hand, and it was actually sometimes sort of legible.) :rofl: :hi:

[Tuesday Afternoon]

67. They are correct. It is not worth it. The coolness factor pales

to the hassles of having to deal with everything being upside and backwards ;) :D :hi:

[Lorien]

41. I had a facial deformity and was speech impaired until age 19

Then I had surgery to shorten and widen my top jaw, and lengthen my bottom jaw (by quite a bit). Everything from my cheekbones down was cut off, re-assembled, and wired back on. Now whenever I get dental x-rays the technician doing them asks delicately "was anyone else in the accident with you"? (assuming I ate a steering wheel).

Needless to say, I was bullied incessantly as a kid and teen. I still can't stand looking at myself-I even avoid reflective surfaces. Maybe that's just because I'm so visually oriented to begin with . I'm an artist by profession and a good 70% of my commissions are illustrations of beautiful women-which is somehow ironic.

[Cabcere]

57. Wow, that is pretty intense.

:hug: I'm sorry to hear about the bullying - kids can be awful! :( I'm glad you made it through, though. And while I don't know what you look like, I've always thought that it takes beauty to create beauty - if that makes any sense? :shrug: My aunt is an artist, and while she may not fit the modeling industry's standard of "beauty," I think she is one of the most lovely people I know, inside and out. :hi:

[Lorien]

77. Aw, thanks Cabcere

:hug: :loveya:

Yes, kids can be downright horrid. I went to (very liberal) private schools for most of my childhood, and since they were schools for the "gifted" (except Jr. High), I was with the same children all the way from first grade through High School graduation. There were no fresh starts-the same teams of bullies hounded me all the way through. And because I was speech impaired and painfully shy it was assumed that I was there by "mistake"-some special case that the school had taken pity on. I had a couple of friends-but they couldn't admit that they actually WERE my friends. I gained weight, then became anorexic. By high school I was 5'7" and weighed 92 pounds.

I know intellectually that I'm not terribly unusual looking now-neither beautiful nor what I was before (though my jaw is too long for my face now, and I need braces yet again because the teeth shifted since the surgery). But that much conditioning still has an effect and it drives me nuts that I just can't shake it off! Needless to say it has had a profound effect on my social life, but I won't get into that.

This is one of the few photos I've kept of myself and it's four years old now-covered in part by kitten and hair (but that's why I kept it). My friend's are always after me to cut my hair short, but I like having a mane that can cover my face. I doubt that I'll ever change it.



Anyway, thanks for letting me vent. Every time I read a story on DU about bullying (often with tragic results) or see posts about how "ugly" someone is-as if that makes a person completely worthless (celebrity or not)- it's hard for me to bite my tongue. But I'm working on that, too!

[FloridaJudy]

82. You know you're gorgeous now, right? n/t

[Lorien]

87. No, but that's a very kind thing of you to say!

:hug:

I know this sounds incredibly stupid because appearances really AREN'T that important, but I would give almost anything to have massive amounts of plastic surgery. I would probably end up looking worse, but I just think that if I couldn't see any of my old self looking back at me then I wouldn't squirm so much in public. Maybe that would jolt me out of this idiotic inhibition! Therapy sure hasn't helped. Fortunately I work at home, so I really don't have to deal with it that much. Thank goodness for email!

[BarenakedLady]

102. You are beautiful.

:hug:

[Cabcere]

116. I think you are beautiful!

:hug: And yeah, social conditioning like that can be terribly hard to overcome - I'm still working on it myself (I was the stereotypical fat, nerdy girl for most of my school career, and got picked on by the "popular" crowd quite a bit). The important thing, though, is that you made it through despite all of that crap. :pals: :toast:

[Breeze54]

42. I didn't like the fan in the kitchen at age 5, so I pulled the plug out of the wall.

It was one of those 1940's models with metal blades

and made a really scary sound and the cord was wrapped in fabric.

It exploded and singed my arm, when I unplugged/yanked the cord

out of the outlet and it blackened my hand and arm with soot.

I had been told not to touch it, as my parents went out to the vegetable

garden... But I didn't listen. I was curious and pissed they left that

"bad" fan running. I just knew it wasn't safe or good. I guess I showed them!

I got slightly burned but more 'shooken up' then anything but they learned a

valuable lesson too! :P The fan got thrown away the same night... finally! ;)

[Cabcere]

61. Oh my!

I'm glad you're OK! That fan sounds like a scary thing - good on you for getting rid of it, although I'm sorry you were injured in the attempt! :hi:

[Breeze54]

89. I was ok but they weren't. That was my objective.

To scare the hell out of them! My little brother kept putting his fingers near the blades
and he didn't understand it was dangerous like I did but my parents blew it off. It was
thrilling to me that it blew up but it also scared me just the same. But I was happy they
got rid of it asap! They yelled at me but they quietly dropped that reaction. I do remember
a new fan; plastic; coming into the house right about then. ;) They might seem like they were
neglectful in that way but they were good parents to a point, just overwhelmed with so many
kids to take care of and low on money. We were treated well, mostly but they had their moments.

I survived in spite of them!! :P

[Robeson]

46. I'm 44, and I still hate onions...

...so don't tell me to try them. I have over the years, and I still hate them.

[Cabcere]

63. Fine by me!

:hi: I'm not the biggest fan of them, myself.

[Connonym]

48. I'm the middle child

[Breeze54]

53. Most of us are but can you elaborate?

You must have some story to tell! :shrug:

[Connonym]

68. the stereotypical forgotten one

Neither one of the "big kids" or one of the "little kids" sort of outsider and never feeling I belonged or got enough attention but also being very much the mediator and peace keeper. There was actually one time when I literally was forgotten at a friend's house for 6 hours. Which wouldn't have been so traumatic except that my friend's family had left and I was sitting on the front porch for 6 hours waiting for my parents to come pick me up. It sounds like a dumb thing to have left an emotional scar but it was a strange neighborhood and I was only about 10. That combined with some other things in my childhood have left me with a really bad abandonment issue. Even now I sometimes will have a panic attack if someone is late meeting me for something.

[Cabcere]

71. Oh man - that is really scary.

:hug: I don't think it's dumb at all; I would be pretty traumatized, too! :pals:

[Breeze54]

85. That doesn't sound like a 'dumb thing' at ALL!

Yikes!! What the hell were they thinking?!? Gheesh!! YOU DO MATTER!!!!!

It sounds like they didn't have THEIR priorities straight but YOU DO MATTER!!

You matter to everyone on DU, you have to know that, right?! You DO matter!

What they did that day was horrible and unforgivable and I wonder, have you told them?

If not, Why the HELL not? Ask them what happened that day because YOU DO MATTER!!!

You need answers and until you get them, this will bother you. Don't let it eat you away!

Go confront them and ask! Clear the air and remember, you are in control of you!

You can't 'make' them change but you do deserve an explanation about that day.

You 'need' an explanation about that day! Take care of it now! You only live once!

Be happy (after this episode) and go on and have a happy life. You deserve it. :hug:

But confront them now!!!!!!!!!

[Lorien]

88. I can really relate, and I think your reaction is perfectly normal

My parents went through an ugly divorce when I was seven, and they actually fought over who had to take the kids. My father was particularly bad about picking us up from anywhere. He would drop us off at a cousin's stable in the morning and not return until well after nightfall-sometimes even in the dead of winter. He was always running at least five hours late. I have real abandonment and trust issues with men now, too. Fortunately I get along well with my parents now and can look back and realize that they were going through a lot, and may have been doing the best that they could (though my dad still sometimes says "I was a crappy father").Even if we know why we are the way that we are, the lessons of our youth still seem so deeply etched upon our psyche that sometimes there's no escape from them.

:hug:

[Connonym]

92. It's difficult because on the one hand your thinking self understands that

and you understand that stuff happens and mistakes are made but on the other hand there's still always a bit of that child inside you who remains scared no matter how your logical brain thinks. I love my parents and I know that at the time they were really overwhelmed because we were in the process of selling our home and moving out of state (and unfortunately my kid mind at the time was terrified that they had left without me) and I don't have any anger about it any more. There's just that lingering almost primal fear that I can't shake. :hug: back at ya. I'd say if you and I are able to look at it and understand our parents' perspectives, even though we still have some residual damage, I think we're doing ok. My sister has told me I should "grow up and get over it" and I think that intellectually I have but I haven't figured out a way to fully reverse the emotional response. I'm not even entirely sure that it's possible to get rid of the gut reaction, the only thing we can do is talk ourselves out of it when it happens.

[enigmatic]

51. This explains everything

http://recluseshow.blogspot.com/2007/07/slapshot-rock-nicholas-stern_21.html

[Arugula Latte]

56. I've never believed in a god.

[madinmaryland]

62. South America...

On January 24th, 2009, in the oval office of the new Democratic president:

The Secretary of Defense is giving the President the daily briefing. The SecDef concludes by saying: "Yesterday, three Brazilian soldiers were killed."

"OH NO!" the President exclaims. "That's terrible!"

The President's staff sits stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watching as the President sits, head in hands.

Finally, the President looks up and says, "One Brazilian is too many! I am glad that we are beginning to draw down our presence in Iraq and put an end to this long national nightmare."

:hi:

[Cabcere]

65. Yep, that does explain a lot about you...

:rofl: :hug: :hi:

[madinmaryland]

66. Yes it does! It's that rich and long tradition of posting inane silliness that

gets me every time!

mim - Proud purveyor of the Brazilian joke on DU for four yearS!!

:hi:

[Shine]

69. I make a point of being grateful for something in my life every day

even if I'm having a day when I'm sad and having hellish cramps.

[Cabcere]

72. That is a wonderful way to live life.

:) My great-grandmother always used to say, "There's something good about everything," and I do try to look for the best in everything...however, I'm not quite as skilled at that as she was. ;) I hope you feel better (emotionally and physically)! Sadness + cramps = not cool. x( :pals:

[RainDog]

76. That's a healthy attitude.

and something we'd all benefit from. I know just a little bit of a (supposedly) Native American poem that ends with "it is good to be a part of all this." I love that statement.

[Lorien]

78. That's an excellent exercise

I used to try to write down three things that I was grateful for every day, but I admit that I've slacked on that for quite a while now. Thanks for the reminder! I does really make a difference.

[cynatnite]

75. I thought anyone who didn't think there was life on other planets was stupid...

Okay, I still do. :)

[harmonicon]

84. I have male sex organs

and the associated hormonal balance.

That's all. I think it explains A LOT about me.

[FloridaJudy]

86. 1) I grew up in Berkeley, California

2)My family didn't get a TV until I was seventeen.
3)My great-aunt Sonia claimed to have been Trotsky's mistress.
4)I fell on my head a lot as a small child.

That covers it.

[Lorien]

90. Lol!

Hey, at least the family wasn't boring-or conservative by the sounds of it!

We didn't have a TV either for about 12 years when I was a kid. I think you really lucked out!

[littlebit]

91. My mom

used fear as a way of getting all of us kids to clean the house. Up until I was 17 I thought that if I didn't keep the microwave cleaned out the bacteria inside it would kill me.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

96. I have saved a few people's lives..........

Once in Jr High, I saved a friend from choking on his own vomit when he had too much "jungle juice" to drink. I woke up from my own drunken reverie to hear this guy choking and I somehow had the presence of mind to turn the guy on his side and clear his throat.

And more recently I encountered a neighbor getting ready to climb a telephone/power pole to investigate why his phone was out. On bad advice from the phone co., he was getting ready to put up a ladder and investigate his phone line for damage (the phone co didn't tell him to climb the pole, they told him to check his interface box which he thought was on the pole). He was more than a little shocked when I told him that the line he was looking at was the high-voltage line coming into his house, not his phone.

Also I'm convinced I saw a UFO landing when I was in the UK.

[Cabcere]

117. That's quite impressive!

:hi: Well done. :)

[dropkickpa]

97. I'm the only girl in a family of 6 children

And also the only brunette (two bro's are redheads, 3 are blonde). I was always being mistaken for a boy, even after my big boobs grew (which made it even more ridiculous). Hell, on the interweb, people still automatically assume I'm a guy.

[LaraMN]

98. I've had a couple significant head injuries.

:D

:crazy:

[dembotoz]

99. i grew up in a family that went camping like every weekend.

from when I was 2 years old till I was prob 16 and got a job.
Turns out I lived in a multigeneraltional household,(my mothers parents lived with us)
and we went camping so the inlaws would not drive my father completely nuts.
Because I was NEVER around on weekend, I really did not bond well with the neighborhood kids.
Since I was in a campground every weekend and that had a constantly revolving cast of charactors, I did not bond there either.
End result? I am pretty self contained.
I am just awkward in social settings, I am not anti social, I am more asocial.
Made me very very shy. trying to overcome that with limited success.

[Lorien]

111. Have you ever tried Toastmasters?

It sounds kind of silly, I know. I'm also terribly shy, but when I went to work for a film studio my shyness wasn't tolerated very well.My bosses decided that the best way for me to deal with it was by putting me in the situations that I feared most. They made me take on nearly every "behind the scenes" interview with the media when we were about to release a film. I HATED being looked at or photographed, and I loathed public speaking. They threatened me with termination if I didn't do the interviews. So I was coached by a press team and sent into makeup and made to to TV and radio interviews-sometimes in front of a huge live audience-over and over again. I still hate doing that sort of thing, but it did get me past my crippling shyness after a while. Toastmasters can have much of the same effect-and at least your speeches won't be broadcast!

:hug:

[dembotoz]

114. what is crazy is I work in sales

I talk to people all the damn time.
when i am in salesman mode, i have no problem.
I was local party chair for a while,
when i am in chair mode, no problem.
like an actor on a stage, give me a role and I can do it.
Put me in a social situation with no particular role and I clam up tight
and withdraw.
always made trying to date "interesting"

[Lorien]

115. How about Dale Carnegie?

His advice is solid and always timeless. His books might help you to create a "character" to play in social situations, and eventually that character might become part of who you are.

As for dating; the best advice I can give any guy is that if you can find a way to be genuinely interested in the woman-her thoughts, ideas, and history, not just her body- then the date should go very well. :-)

[dembotoz]

122. took the course bout 20 years ago

it was helpful.
You should have seen me before.

I am better than I was, no doubt about that.
But it remains an area of frustration.

[pokerfan]

100. I was the only kid in my grade school class

that liked word problems in math. Everyone else hated them. I figured that was pretty much the point of mathematics, i.e. solving problems.

[LeftyFingerPop]

101. An angry drunk tried to kill me once by throwing his daughter's...

prosthetic leg at my head.

I'm not joking.

[Cabcere]

118. Good grief!

:scared: I'm glad he was unsuccessful. :hug:

[LeftyFingerPop]

121. Thanks!!

Me too! :hug:

[WritingIsMyReligion]

103. I'm an only child.

I can't fathom what it must be like to have siblings--absolutely blows my mind. As a result, I'm terrible with sharing stuff and don't do so well in tight quarters with many people after a few hours.

[no name no slogan]

104. I was is a tornado when I was two.

I got a concussion when a big oak tree fell on me. It has probably been a contributing factor to my current health problems.

To this day I am terrified of tornadoes. When the sky gets green, I get VERY anxious.

[Lorien]

110. What an awful experience for a child!

I've been in the middle of a hurricane and tornado as an adult, but luckily nothing fell on me or my home (protected on all sides by bigger buildings). I've often felt since that it would have been far more traumatic for a child. I've always strongly urged parents with small children to evacuate when a hurricane is on it's way, because I really do feel that going through one can easily impact any of them for life! At least it's not an irrational fear that you have. It's those people who want to "ride them out" because they think it will be "fun" that are the nutty ones, imho.

[Cabcere]

119. That is terrifying!

:scared: I can't even imagine what that must have been like, especially at such a young age. :hug:

[BarenakedLady]

105. I'm the baby of the family

Which is why I'm a spoiled rotten Princess.

:D

[Blue-Jay]

106. Hobos are harder to strangle than you might think.

[TZ]

107. I am the middle child of three girls

I have classic middle child syndrome.
Oh and I used to think the last line to "Row, Row, Row, your boat" was "life is down the drain"........:rofl:

[femmocrat]

108. The fact that I have been thinking about this for hours,,,,

and cannot think of a thing probably says it all.

:(

[Fire Walk With Me]

113. Click on any of the symbols, then click "Trailer".

Select the size/rate you prefer.

http://www.cremaster.net

The underlying significance is the key.

[Jamastiene]

120. I hate wearing clothes.

I love sex, but cannot ever get enough of it. I think that pretty much sums me up all the way.

[Bake]

123. I play the banjo. And I'm skeered of heights.

Airplanes, however, do not frighten me.

Bake

[Parche]

124. STUD

:hi: