Advice from Old PeopleSometimes, just sometimes, old people say something worth listening to. Ok, so it's like picking the needle out of a whole haystack of mis-remembered war stories, but those gems should be celebrated.
Tell us something worthwhile an old-type person has told you.
Note, we're leaving the definition of old up to you, you smooth-skinned youngsters.
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chthonic, Thu 19 Jun 2008, 16:16)
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I recall being about 9And my mother coming up to me while I was playing with my shiny new mac (performa 630, guess my age), and stating:
"Can you print something to put on the living room wall?"
"Er, of course you can mum"
"Ok, I want this
You better be content with your own madness because its better than being a boring bastard."
"Ok mum. Pick the font?"
"Font? Er, that one" *points* at the menu.
So it remained on the wall for quite so time, in its purple almost unreadable font glory.
Took me ages to find that font again about a year ago. It makes me think of happy times. Before she got married (and divorced 10 years after that), before secondary school, living in the flat in the dodgy council estate and not in the pretend-post housing association cul-de-sac, before I discovered that people dumber than me could still beat me up anyway, before well, everything.
Most of the stuff she's ever said has reversed (and some back again as she got divorced, heh). From "Stop using the computer and get some real friends" to "SO, how do I get on this msn thing then?". From insisting that mobile phones will never catch on to denying that she ever said that, and a more recent example - seeing razorlight on telly and pointing going "get the kids off and play some real music" (code for change the channel I think) to insisting that she liked razorlight from that start... (funnily enough, she got the coldplay thing straight away).
Some things haven't changed. For example, any use of sky plus or Homechoice as we had or anything (cable etc back then) was interrupted with "I want to watch the *real* telly". She still thinks that drugs and complementary supplements are a good way to ignore problems, but insists the use of psychiatrists as "weak". She still tells me to go my own way and do what I want (funnily enough, I only got this properly very recently). Oh and to drink. Lots. And to have a good time.
The drinking one has been passed through the generations. I do not know a single family member on her side older than 65. So I'm teetotal.
Some stuff sticks though.
What she *didn't* tell me is that you could be mad *and* a boring bastard. Any ideas on that one?
(, Sat 21 Jun 2008, 13:51, Reply)
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