In response to Emma Curry... As a Canadian from Montreal, Quebec, may I point out that we have free universal health care, have had it for many decades, and still have plenty of electricity (enough so that we export some of it), water and food?
"Yelling at people, in an authoritative way, not bullying or insulting..." It seems to me, that experience might have really helped you to become the radio host you had dreamed of! It takes a lot of tact to "move the show along" with a slow-speaking guest, or to shy around topics that might bring trouble from censors. Sometimes, earlier experiences help us out subconsciously in later situations, without our being aware of the source.
Just recently, I was reliving the time, on a skiing vacation, when I nearly "drowned in snow." That's the way I remember it, and I never thought to question how the verb "drowned" came to my mind. There I was, sunk in a ravine of snow that hadn't been obvious on the wide, white groomed slope. Without a moment's active thought, I reached down, unclipped my skis from the boots, slipped the long, thin planks up to the surface, placed them side by side and then pulled myself up to them to gulp in the fresh air.
It just came to me yesterday, that I was subconsciously reenacting the drills we had had in a Red Cross Lifesaving Certification class. I had been 18 at the time. "When you're trapped underwater, find some way to have or create a large stable surface and pull yourself up. It could be taking off your pants, pushing them up, trapping air and converting them into a large balloon, for example." In the pool, our class had run through this drill until we felt competent about it. "Object - put it on the surface - as big as possible. Make it into something like a raft. Pull yourself up on it! Hold your breath until your head's out of the water. Then head up toward the sky, and breathe!"
Once the word "drowning" came into my head, the rest of the drill followed. The skis had enough elongated surface area to bear my weight in the airy snow. Once I was up and breathing again, I could maneuver the ski-raft over toward solid ground. No panic. All those drills in the YMCA swimming pool, years and years before, saved my life on a snowy mountain that day! And all your cultured yelling on that parking lot probably helped you immensely when it came to keeping a cool head in the hot spotlights on stage! Our life experiences can be like water in a stream - we can forget where it all came from, but it keeps on flowing! It's there!
This is a very interesting discussion. I was interested in what you thought about various women in the news. Your comment that you'd rather confide in women rather than men, might be "gender specific", but maybe not. In California, where hitch-hiking is legal, I used to pick up riders at least twice a month. Most of them, unsurprisingly, were men. In general, they felt more confident in a safe passage with me, whether that's actually true or not.
The thing is, when you don't know each other, and you're 100% sure that nobody you work with, live next to or go to group events with is ever going to hear what you say, it's a lot easier to bare your feelings and let the conversation flow. The ride can take on the aspects of being in a confessional. I wouldn't be surprised, if in situations such as yours, many of the men you come in contact with might have connections to others you know. Exercising a degree of caution in those instances is just common sense. If most of the women you might be speaking with aren't in your direct social circle of contacts, it would be much easier to say something to Aunt Mary while the two of you are in the kitchen stuffing a turkey, than to worry about your men friends. It could be, that as we move toward more "gender equality" in the workplace, some of those differences that seem to exist at present will cease to be significant in future generations!
Oh, and, by the way, the one person I stopped for who turned down a ride with me was a woman. It was on the corner of Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood, California. The scantily-clad young woman had her thumb out, but when I stopped and she observed that I wouldn't be a paying "John" - she gave me the finger and turned her back on me! C'est la Vie!
In response to Emma Curry... As a Canadian from Montreal, Quebec, may I point out that we have free universal health care, have had it for many decades, and still have plenty of electricity (enough so that we export some of it), water and food?
Josee Larose
"Yelling at people, in an authoritative way, not bullying or insulting..." It seems to me, that experience might have really helped you to become the radio host you had dreamed of! It takes a lot of tact to "move the show along" with a slow-speaking guest, or to shy around topics that might bring trouble from censors. Sometimes, earlier experiences help us out subconsciously in later situations, without our being aware of the source.
Just recently, I was reliving the time, on a skiing vacation, when I nearly "drowned in snow." That's the way I remember it, and I never thought to question how the verb "drowned" came to my mind. There I was, sunk in a ravine of snow that hadn't been obvious on the wide, white groomed slope. Without a moment's active thought, I reached down, unclipped my skis from the boots, slipped the long, thin planks up to the surface, placed them side by side and then pulled myself up to them to gulp in the fresh air.
It just came to me yesterday, that I was subconsciously reenacting the drills we had had in a Red Cross Lifesaving Certification class. I had been 18 at the time. "When you're trapped underwater, find some way to have or create a large stable surface and pull yourself up. It could be taking off your pants, pushing them up, trapping air and converting them into a large balloon, for example." In the pool, our class had run through this drill until we felt competent about it. "Object - put it on the surface - as big as possible. Make it into something like a raft. Pull yourself up on it! Hold your breath until your head's out of the water. Then head up toward the sky, and breathe!"
Once the word "drowning" came into my head, the rest of the drill followed. The skis had enough elongated surface area to bear my weight in the airy snow. Once I was up and breathing again, I could maneuver the ski-raft over toward solid ground. No panic. All those drills in the YMCA swimming pool, years and years before, saved my life on a snowy mountain that day! And all your cultured yelling on that parking lot probably helped you immensely when it came to keeping a cool head in the hot spotlights on stage! Our life experiences can be like water in a stream - we can forget where it all came from, but it keeps on flowing! It's there!
This is a very interesting discussion. I was interested in what you thought about various women in the news. Your comment that you'd rather confide in women rather than men, might be "gender specific", but maybe not. In California, where hitch-hiking is legal, I used to pick up riders at least twice a month. Most of them, unsurprisingly, were men. In general, they felt more confident in a safe passage with me, whether that's actually true or not.
The thing is, when you don't know each other, and you're 100% sure that nobody you work with, live next to or go to group events with is ever going to hear what you say, it's a lot easier to bare your feelings and let the conversation flow. The ride can take on the aspects of being in a confessional. I wouldn't be surprised, if in situations such as yours, many of the men you come in contact with might have connections to others you know. Exercising a degree of caution in those instances is just common sense. If most of the women you might be speaking with aren't in your direct social circle of contacts, it would be much easier to say something to Aunt Mary while the two of you are in the kitchen stuffing a turkey, than to worry about your men friends. It could be, that as we move toward more "gender equality" in the workplace, some of those differences that seem to exist at present will cease to be significant in future generations!
Oh, and, by the way, the one person I stopped for who turned down a ride with me was a woman. It was on the corner of Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood, California. The scantily-clad young woman had her thumb out, but when I stopped and she observed that I wouldn't be a paying "John" - she gave me the finger and turned her back on me! C'est la Vie!