Day: January 9, 2023

MLMM Lucky Dip — 7 January ‘23

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“Grandad,” Frank said, “Why, at your age, would you get a DNA analysis?”

“I just got a call that my cousin, who I haven’t seen in years, passed away,” Henry said. “He and I were quite close back in the day. We used to play chess regularly and he was very good at it. But then my parents moved us away and, sadly, he and I lost touch. I’m going to take a plane to attend his funeral the day after tomorrow. Anyway, I got the DNA test to see if there are any other relatives, even distant ones, who ought to be notified.”

“I’m so sorry, Grandad,” Frank said. “How did your cousin die?”

“He was my age,” Henry said, “I’d like to say that he died peacefully in his sleep, but apparently he ate some blowfish at a Japanese restaurant. Blowfish that is improperly prepared is very poisonous and he suffered an agonizing death.”

“Yikes, that’s awful.”

“Yeah, well at least he’s somewhere over the rainbow now,” Henry said. “Oh wow, look at the time. I have to go book my flight. Can you hand me my cane? And would you mind, Frank, having some flowers sent to the funeral home?”

Written for the Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Lucky Dip. The idea is to use the nine random story cubes above as “ideas” for inclusion in our response.

TMP — Hair

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Every Monday, Paula Light, with her The Monday Peeve prompt, gives us an opportunity to vent or rant about something that pisses us off.

My peeve today is with people who complain about how to style, cut, shampoo, or wear their hair. Or grouse about how their hair stylist or barber butchered their cut. Oh boo boo! At least you still have your hair.

My hair abandoned me years ago. And as someone who is follically challenged, I have little sympathy for those with a full head of long, beautiful hair, shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen, straight, curly, fuzzy, or shaggy hair.

At the same time, I have no patience with the baldies out there who piss and moan about how unfair it is that they have no hair. It is what it is. Deal with it!

(I hope everyone realizes that this peeve is tongue-in-cheek. You get that, right, Paula?)

WDP — If It Ain’t Broke…

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What could you do differently?

If there is a reason for doing things differently, that’s one thing. But I’m not a proponent of change for the sake of change. As the old saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And I ain’t broke.

If I think about the past, which I don’t often do, I suppose there are many things I could have done differently at the time. But then would I be who, what, and where I am today? Maybe. Maybe not.

But as things stand, I’m content with my life and see no good reason to do things differently just for the sake of doing things differently.

Share Your World — 01/9/2023

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Share Your World

Di, at Pensitivity101, is our host for Share Your World each week. Here are her SYW questions for this week.

1. How long did it take you to get back into your normal routine after the holidays?

As a retiree, my normal routine is pretty routine and quite normal, so it took me no time at all to get back to my normal routine.

2. Which makes you feel more relaxed, putting your feet up in front of the fire with a good book or socializing with your friends?

Definitely putting my feet up in front of the fire with a good book, my blog, or an engaging TV show or movie to watch. I’m not one for socializing much anymore these days.

3. What is your favorite hot drink?

Coffee, of course.

4. If you are feeling poorly, do you prefer to be pampered, or left alone?

Most of the time I prefer to be left alone, although a little pampering ain’t bad.

Gratitude:

I am grateful that after a week, my severe lower back muscle spasms have ceased and, while not yet 100%, my back is much better. I’m also grateful for all the well wishes I received from our blogging community.

Sadje’s Sunday Poser on Monday

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Sadje has posed an interesting question. She writes, “When things aren’t going as you like them to, what is the better way to make people realize their error? Praise them in a positive way to make them realize their mistake or criticize their method?” And then she asks, “How do you handle such situations? Do you directly point out the flaw in the way they are doing something or go about it in a diplomatic way?”

My answer is that it depends upon the situation. Criticism may actually be better than praise. Of course, this is in the context of interactions between adults. Interactions with children are a whole different dynamic.

I believe that praising someone for doing an excellent job is great. But praising someone for doing something half-assed or not very well is not at all useful. False praise like that is not going to help a person improve or do better. It’s reinforcing mediocrity.

However, constructive criticism can help a person to see how to be better, more efficient, and/or more effective at whatever task they’re doing. That said, any criticism must be constructive. And if someone is to be subject to criticism, it’s important to criticize the act and not the person.

The bottom line, in my opinion, is that praise might be nice and you need to do some of it, but when it comes to improving someone’s skills, performance, or effectiveness, constructive criticism works best.