Hi yet again, James!  This is the last installment in the current series:

JB>  Humour is a tool that I hope/I'm sure everyone here
JB>  has utilized to deal with the muck that surrounds us,
JB>  but unless the muck is identical, the audience might
JB>  not appreciate the speakers sense of humour about it.


          Yes, I think a sense of humour is a very valuable asset even if
those around you find it incomprehensible.  Your feeling of being at a loss
for words when somebody wishes you a "speedy recovery" also reminds me of
another.  Years ago I read an account by the father of a young child with
Down's syndrome.  One day a neighbour dropped by & exclaimed "You let him walk
on the chesterfield??" (We know people like that.  I reckon many others in
this echo probably do too.) The father could have patiently informed her that
the PT had advised the family to encourage the child to walk on various
surfaces to improve his balance etc., and that he attached a higher priority
to his son's needs than to the condition of the chesterfield... but this woman
doesn't sound like the type of person who would be able to grasp the concept. 
He could have told her to MYOB, but he may have wanted to maintain an
approximation of peaceful coexistence with her.  His response was "Thank God
he can walk!"  IMHO he put it in a nutshell there.  ;-)



[re Gacy]
AH>  The serial killer?  JFTR, I had to google his
AH>  name....  :-)

JB>  You didn't *have* to, JFTR. 


          Oops.  Good point!  I chose to use my preferred learning style. 
Even if somebody holds a gun to one's head, one has choices... [grin].



AH>  And you wonder how he got that way... I can relate.

JB>  "Ow... I didn't know *that* crack was in the pavement.
JB>  How might we fill it, so it never opens up again?"


          I once read about a guy in the States who asked for the death
penalty because his "illness" had no "cure".  He was a violent rapist who
seemed unable to control his behaviour despite his remorse.  As a parent I'm
tempted to throw the book at such people... I want them to be where they can't
do the same thing ever again... OTOH as an individual who often falls between
the cracks I wonder if we as a society have failed to meet their needs.  Some
people who are abused the way Gacy was resolve that the cycle of abuse will
end with them & manage to turn their lives around... others don't.  We still
have a lot to learn....  :-(




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
 * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)