[GaryO]

Kid, ya got talent.

Reminds me;

I had this acquaintance over to garner some advice.
We strode thru the garden and out to the shop. While I jacked my jaws, he’d picked up a broken stake layin’ on the side of the path, then picked up one’a my utility shop knives and whittled and gouged at that ol’ hunk of discarded wood.

When we were thru discussing world events, he grabbed a bent nail outta my waste bucket and fiddled with his pieces of wood.
I really didn’t pay much attention to what he was doin’, being enrapt in my own story, but after all was said and done, he laid his little creation on my shop bench…..I didn’t notice what it was until long after he'd left, didn’t even know he knew I enjoyed golf….

I keep it as a reminder of a few things I learned that afternoon.
1) I have little talent
2) People are not necessarily as enrapt in yourself as you are
3) I’ve wasted a lot of wood….a lot

I did try to carve my own little golfer, even thought I’d make a foursome….. he still golfs alone.

[M0rd3kaI]

Thanks Gary, I really appreciate it.

That looks SO bloody cool! I never played golf... although, not on an actual golf course, apart from mini golf when I was 'fart height' I played with plastic golfclubs when I was smaller hitting the ball and getting imaginary hole-in-one's as the hole will constantly follow the ball wherever it went.

That gives me a very nice idea... I wonder if I have a few pieces of wood layin' around that I can try my hand at a lil' golfer... hmmmmmm

Anyway if I do carve a golfer, I'll post the results though... Really it is so cool!

And another thing (Prepare yourself for this... I don't know why, just brace yourself) I had a time in my life when I questioned my own knowledge constantly "What do I actually know?" was the question... I tried answering myself with the "I know how to tie knots" and "I know how to coordinate things (sometimes)" but it always seemed too little, never enough to be a true human... I was sad that I 'didn't know anything.' A few weeks ago, my aunt invited me and my mom to come over for supper, which we did, had hake... some of the best prepared hake I ever had in my life... I'm not a fish lover (Except for salmon... god that stuff goes down my gullet faster than petrol into a V8 engine) but GEEZUS! that was good.... DAMMIT! sorry, back to the point. My aunt also invited a very nice Professor... Prof Alex. during the course of the evening I talked with him as well as my uncle (I don't know how old prof Alex is, but I judge no younger than 58) and my uncle is already on the otherside of 70... That evening I was told... by a Professor in Electricity (not exactly sure)... that I had a very good general knowledge. Shocked at this clearly incorrect fact I asked him "in what fields" and he answered by saying "everything." The point of this is, don't self examine yourself... you'll never find answers, only the answers you believe.

I know coming from a little snot-nosed 19-year old that spends more time on his arse and bed than anything else, you'll most likely not believe me, but Gary, you do have talent, and just the mere fact that you tried to make your own lil' golfer is proof...
Just the fact that you (not sure if you do, but let's say you do) live in a cabin that you put together, is proof...
Just because you have a loving family and grandchildren that love to play around with you, is proof...
And Just because you have a friend that will spend time in your company and create a lil' golfer for you.... is proof.

Ok, that looks just too nice to pass up... I'm going on a scavenger hunt for wood and a knife... (Loads of the second one in my room, but the wood is what's missing in the equation.

[M0rd3kaI]

Bugger... just checked... I found a knife... but no wood that will be adequate to carve :/ sigh... oh well, tomorrow I'll try and delve a bit deeper

[GaryO]

Talent? I blush.
I know who I am, kid.
But nice try.

Seems there’s an innate ability in some individuals.
That ability is sometimes referred to as talent.
But, only when coupled with desire, is said talent made visible, or audible in some cases.
Yeah, I’ve attempted stabs with fleeting desire, as a lot of folks have.
But after a few failures, interest lags.
As with carving, the vision is lost somewhere between my frontal lobe and my elbow.
It seems the talented have a clearer vision of the target at the outset.
Then comes the dogged determination.
Failures are looked upon as stages of discovery.
5BJ comes to mind as he nurtures his fertile scientific mind.
Rick, axe, and you…and some other youngsters, show a rich exuberance toward life’s twists with your word games, and crazy banter. It’s this vitality of mind, once experiencing experience itself, that makes things happen…. good things.

I’m sure those that have displayed their magnificent talent with posters have looked upon other’s attempts (mine come to mind) and thought, ‘Geez, they sure butchered that fine scene with inane, pedestrian verbiage’….

So, yeah, nurture your talents, and I’ll savor the things I’ve learned, and pen them somewhere.

Maybe things I’ve penned in the name of experience will join other things I've published and be in print somewhere one day, maybe not......


A journal entry:

So, here I am, on the wrong side of sixty, weird things growing, wiry hairs, warts, splotches, weird indefinable patches, moles the size of, well……moles, and that’s just on my hind end!

I’ve got good hearing, but only in one ear. But that works to my advantage when things like sleep inhibiting events pose a problem, what with all the snoring, and deep REM flatulence. I just put the good ear to the pillow. So, never really have to confront my lady about her little, shall we say, issues. She does, however, become a tad peeved when I ask her to repeat what she said after a lengthy one rips into full vibrato….just kidding (some).

Vision is going south. Reading glasses are strategically laid throughout the house, cars, tackle boxes, and shop……and the oval office.
It’s not a serious issue just yet, but need to demonstrate more patience when trying to get the neighbor’s hibachi to fetch.

However, this also works well for me, as, for the longest time, I’ve fixated on the oddest things while in deep conversation with individuals. It’s quite a distraction for me to see a wafer like flake flitting in and out of a nasal passage while the talker breathes.

It’s just as distracting to observe a saliva lip string twanging away, affixed from upper to lower lip as the talker jabbers away. The intriguing thing with this phenomenon is it is usually intermittent. The micro bungee can completely disappear for several syllables, then mysteriously re-appear in full regalia when an 'M' comes into play, taut then loose, there it is, now it’s gone, back again, sproinging from that hangy thing in the center of most upper lips.
I’m sure I’ve missed a ton of important discussion content because of these fixations.
Now, with limited vision, if I so choose, it’s all a blur and I can mentally focus on the subject at hand.

So, it seems the older one gets, not only does one become a bit learned, but crafty….it’s survival.
The tricky part is when attempting to do things one did a few decades before.
Astute judgment must be employed here, no matter what ego size. Actually, speaking of size, when these urges arise, you should immediately jump in your car, drive to the nearest emergi-center, and have the size of your prostate checked.
Hopefully the desire to perform acts of yore will fully abate by the time you get unattached from the doctor’s forefinger.


I set up the grandkids slip-n-slide a couple summers ago.
Man, could they scoot.
However, when mass (somewhere between 180 to….say….. 247 lbs) meets wet plastic (at any angle, no matter how low to the ground you think you are) at the blazing speed of around 7.2 mph, I discovered that the friction of contact has much more holding power than yield. Seems water displacement is immediate, and actually enables one’s heels to make rare contact with the back of one’s head.
And……when a large area of glutinous hide does manage to slide several millimeters, the waterless friction gives one’s skin a healthy ruddy glow, lasting several days.
I did, however, find success in the ’slip’ part, at least with one foot, as my 2nd attempt, at a much greater velocity of 7.4 mph propelled one leg forward, extending my nether regions into a never before accomplished split.
Strangely, and simultaneously, I heard an eerily high pitched, ear splitting noise coming from some wild hyena-like entity quite nearby….my larynx being the exact location.

I was up and about in a matter of weeks.


I’m kinda anxious to see how yer lil’ golfer turns out….no pressure……..

Cheers, mate

[M0rd3kaI]

(OK I just noticed Whenever I post a reply there's always some massive area where I blabber on about anything... Something reminds me and then my verbal (or typing) diarrhea just takes over... apologies if it's boring, I won't mind if you skip it.)

Ah... well, I tried at least... it's better than to sit here, or rather, on other threads being a complete snob or emotional puss filled entity called 'ye olde teenager' I say... anyway, I enjoy reading the 'personal ramblings' of other creatures that this world is dying as a result of over consumption and greed... AH! Philosophy... wrong time and place for that... moving on.

After a few failures you learned a few things (well... I do anyway) it's either 'Don't do this over here' or 'Don't do that over there' or just plain and simple... 'Don't do it' either way (I for one) learn things no mater what I do... or I teach things to other people... I like doing that surprisingly, made many a person heavily angry due to my 'technique' in teaching, but every one of them remembered what they had to do without my help in exams though.

Oh, that's understandable, I mean I had an idea for a drawing many times.... "Oh this will be the best drawing ever" then it looks like a psychologists "What do you see" card... as if the pencil just vomited and the eraser tried to clean up... in vain. (Luckily I have a slightly better grasp at drawing nowadays, but I still can't 'start' a drawing without seeing what I'll draw) anyway.

I always thought 'good things' happen if you go 'head on' into something (not stupid, like the crap you see on youtube) and expect failure, but then succeed anyway (wow... reading back that really made absolutely... NO sense at all, but sigh, my deleting manner is not as explicit as my typing manner... then again, my thoughts have proved utterly gibberish if I try and put them into words... all just a mix of hand gestures, "ummm", slurred speech and God knows what else...)

Then after you penned your learnings you'll give them to me too learn as well eh? har har.. I is funny...just kidding though.

Optimist I see, turning the utter worst scenarios into your advantage, being 'hard-of-hearing' in one ear and good in the other... having fixations and being able to see past... wait that's not right... "...NOT being able to see past them". "Oval office... why does that sound so familiar?? I swear I heard that somewhere before.

Ah the slip-n-slide... Something I only seen in my life so far, but I can only imagine how that 'few millimeter slide' should not only look, but feel as well. I really enjoyed your part of: "...actually enables one’s heels to make rare contact with the back of one’s head." So being plowed into a rubber/plastic mat at 7.2mph is not enough, you blatantly kick yourself in the head for doing so badly?? Yes... I would too if I don't break in half first.

"I did, however, find success in the ’slip’ part, at least with one foot, as my 2nd attempt, at a much greater velocity of 7.4 mph propelled one leg forward, extending my nether regions into a never before accomplished split.
Strangely, and simultaneously, I heard an eerily high pitched, ear splitting noise coming from some wild hyena-like entity quite nearby….my larynx being the exact location."
Nice... Glad you did, although... quite horridly you reminded me of myself... thinking that I was a real skateboarder back-in-the-day (Still fascinates me to this day that you can do things with a plank and 4 wheels other than beat the crap out of the ground OR someone ON the ground) I got my skateboard about 2 weeks back (For those of you who don't know... it's back-in-the-day, so it was not now, was about 8+ years back) and somewhat got the hang of being able to stand on it without being greeted with the ground. So I put the godforsaken thing on the garage floor... smooth screed... ok, I give about a 3 step run-up and jump onto the board... it successfully speeds up and my legs follow it, but apparently my upper body was very tired and so stopped... in place... allowing the board and my legs to keep travelling forward... I was wheezing for about half an hour afterwards... landed square on my back of course whiplash's younger cousin 'floorlash' got to my head and I had a nice 'head-holding' walk out to the street to collect my skateboard.......... sold it not to long after.

I am also anxious to be brutally honest, sadly to no avail, I still have not found an adequate little piece of wood, but have the whole thing already worked out in my head how it'll look, how it has to be made, and and and. Will update as soon as I finish it though.

[GaryO]

Ah, the skate board.
But for the sake of a tiny pebble 'neath the fore wheel on a rather steep slope, I may have kept my palms from becoming protective wrist flaps....but that was long ago, when I was an over fed long hed leaping gnome of 13.



"It seems the talented have a clearer vision of the target at the outset."

to wit

".....but have the whole thing already worked out in my head how it'll look, how it has to be made, and....."

[M0rd3kaI]

Ooooooohhh, yeah that's not nice having skin that is not attached to your body the way it should be... Nice, luckily you were young, so the pain is a bit less memorable than as if it was yesterday or the day before...

I had to look back to see if you weren't messing around with me... so then only I saw that I wrote... typed... said whatever, that... now... if only I can know what 'To wit' means (Apologies... English is not my home language, but none the less, I really don't know what that means funnily)

[GaryO]

As you may have picked up by now, English is not necessarily our first language here either………
That said, I’ve always considered when the term ‘to wit’ was used in the court room, it meant “looky there yer Honor”, or on the street "That’s what I’m talkin’ about”, but I s’pose it’s old English…that is to say, from Ye Olde mother tongue

[M0rd3kaI]

True... true (Gary you make me feel like an idiot here...) Oh... ok, now all makes sense, thanks though for clearing that up. And if that was then intended as a compliment, I appreciate it, if not... well I still do for you take the time to read through my MASSIVE comments/ posts

[GaryO]

Oh, it was very much intended as a compliment, and resting my case in regard to those with talent….my words became yours.

True, it’s mostly work, but the fruition only comes with that innate seed of ability………..some just do not have it.

Forgive me. It is definitely not mine to point out idiocy. Believe that.
Now, if someone were to debate a topic, like a religious philosophy, well, that’s where the fun begins……unfortunately that’s also where friendships cease…..other forums are for that, and quite exhausting at times….people would rather get angry than argue intelligently, or (god forbid) concede a beloved point.

I’ve read every word of yours in this thread, and I’ve tried to read the other ‘game’ threads, but the subject matter escapes me.

Again, forgive me as I incorrigibly continue to butcher the spawn of many tongues….it’s on purpose.