Thursday
Sep022010
Bloody Hell! Shanan Is a Kicker of Many Asses!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Is the word "ass" a swear word? Is it actually profanity? It's funny, the things I am still unclear about at my advanced age.
My upbringing was pretty conservative. The worst strong language I remember hearing in my house as a kid was when my father would yell bloody hell. That doesn't sound very strong now, but back then when that was what was yelled in the worst situations, like that time he ran his thumb through the electric garage door opener chain, it can seem pretty powerful.
"Bloody hell!" he bellowed, clutching his shredded thumb and bleeding all over the side of our yellow station wagon. "Grab a tea towel or something!"
I remember wandering off to get a towel to staunch the blood flow and mentally filing bloody hell away for a time when I wanted to sound like I really meant something.
So, when I say Bloody hell! Shanan is a kicker of many asses!, you know that I mean it.
She is the first person outside of my apartment whom I told about my new quitting drinking thing. I kind of wedged it in between paying for our restaurant bill and walking to the car, because I was nervous about it and was subconsciously trying to make it look smaller by sticking it in the middle of our bustling around with coats and bags and whatnot.
She looked a little shocked but behaved exactly as I thought she might, which was with a measure of positive matter-of-factness. I needed positive matter-of-factness. It helps to have swollen, turbulent-seeming things laid more plain.
Also, when I ask her if I can put stupid pictures like the one above on the internet, she says yes.
Bloody hell! Shanan is a kicker of many asses!
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PS. My father's thumb is much like any other thumb now, to ease the minds of those who were worried. I know that the state of my father's thumb is of great import.
My upbringing was pretty conservative. The worst strong language I remember hearing in my house as a kid was when my father would yell bloody hell. That doesn't sound very strong now, but back then when that was what was yelled in the worst situations, like that time he ran his thumb through the electric garage door opener chain, it can seem pretty powerful.
"Bloody hell!" he bellowed, clutching his shredded thumb and bleeding all over the side of our yellow station wagon. "Grab a tea towel or something!"
I remember wandering off to get a towel to staunch the blood flow and mentally filing bloody hell away for a time when I wanted to sound like I really meant something.
So, when I say Bloody hell! Shanan is a kicker of many asses!, you know that I mean it.
She is the first person outside of my apartment whom I told about my new quitting drinking thing. I kind of wedged it in between paying for our restaurant bill and walking to the car, because I was nervous about it and was subconsciously trying to make it look smaller by sticking it in the middle of our bustling around with coats and bags and whatnot.
She looked a little shocked but behaved exactly as I thought she might, which was with a measure of positive matter-of-factness. I needed positive matter-of-factness. It helps to have swollen, turbulent-seeming things laid more plain.
Also, when I ask her if I can put stupid pictures like the one above on the internet, she says yes.
Bloody hell! Shanan is a kicker of many asses!
----------------------------
PS. My father's thumb is much like any other thumb now, to ease the minds of those who were worried. I know that the state of my father's thumb is of great import.
Reader Comments (7)
Oo, I like me some measure of positive matter-of-factness. No kidding, we could use more of that in the world.
Cool. I'm right there with you; the NOT-drinking thing. It's been 6 months now...
:-)
I'm glad she reacted well. I stopped drinking for a week just to try it (I do these things I call "week of" - week of not drinking, week of being a vegetarian, week of working out every day, week of not watching tv, etc). It was amazing to me how strongly people reacted when I told them I wasn't drinking, or when I just ordered a diet soda. A few were worried about me - was I having a problem with drinking?. A few thought I was making some comment about how much they drink (I wasn't!). Most tried to get me to change my mind.
One person actually said she couldn't hang out with me if I wasn't going to drink and then she left - presumably to find a more fun person to hang out with.
I'm glad your friend responded well. Best of wishes to you in your new, sober life! You rock!
Congrats to you, Schmutz...I have to rearrange my brain a tad here. I never got the negative tone regarding alcohol through your writing, so when I first started reading you I thought - I'm going to have a beer with Schmutzie one of these days. Meh. It's not the booze that makes a connection - it's the pure heartfeltedness (if I may make up a word here in your comments) of your writing, photos, and everything else. Good for you for being you and doing what you need to do for you!! I still aim to get to BlogHer one of these years...cheezburgers still the thing? At least the hats. Definitely the hats.
advanced age .... bloody hell !
We all gain strength through various types of people in our lives. Good to know you had a kick-ass friend on your side when that is what you were in need of, on that particular day.
Hey sister! Wanna go for coffee?