LEARNING MORE AS WE GO? OK BOOMER

Learning more is a life goal.

Sharing life goals with others makes it even better.

Baby boomers in the long haul of marriage have so much to look forward to, and look back on.

That’s the benefit of sticking around, of sticking together.

Embrace your history, ok boomer?

How does that work? Stick around.

One of the important parts of history is understanding it doesn’t start the year you were born.

Didn’t start the year your parents were born either, or your grandparents, although they seemed ancient when we were kids.

I met my great-grandma in Dallas, Texas, a woman barely five feet tall.

She came from the era where careful women only washed their hair once a year for fear of catching a cold.

She was about a hundred and looked every minute of it.

The most amazing thing about her was she had a lot of kids, including my six foot tall grandma, who had three giant kids.

One little lady produced a slew of behemoths, which as a kid I hoped to become with uncles ranging from 6’4″ to 6’6″.

My brothers and I clocked in at 6’2″; my kids reached 6′.

We seem to be shrinking.

 

How To Understand Personal History More Better

The big history question is, ‘What Happened?’

The bigger the event, the bigger the question, as in, ‘What The Hell Happened Here?’

Whether it’s in your apartment, your house, on your street, your town, your county, state, or nation; whether it’s world wide, or in the atmosphere, it’s the same question.

We depend on professional historians for the big stuff.

They do interviews, read books, examine the evidence, and come to conclusions as to what happened.

We can agree, or disagree and do our own work.

If you end up sounding like a crack-pot, well those are the chances you take.

Personal history is another matter. Who’s going to dispute you?

 

Who Is The Boss Of You

I’m learning more as I age, after listening to more cock and bull stories than I ever asked for.

Someone says they’re a black belt? Sounds good to me.

With so many martial arts available, there are just as many levels in each one.

I’ve got three black belts, the kind you push through the loops of your pants.

Martial Arts bring a different set of belts.

From Sixth Sense MMA:

 

The white belt represents a beginner who is new to martial arts and ready to learn.

As students gain knowledge, they earn the yellow belt, which symbolizes the first rays of understanding, like sunlight bringing new growth.

The orange belt shows that a student is gaining energy and enthusiasm in their practice. The green belt represents steady growth, similar to how a plant becomes stronger over time.

Advancing through belt levels requires dedication, practice, and meeting specific requirements.

 

Learning more requires the same focus.

 

The Comfort Of Listening To A Load Of Crap

Once you figure out someone is going off on a tangent, let them go.

When they come back around, and they will, don’t start grilling them for details.

Tangents and details don’t always match up.

Be a good listener and let them talk it out.

You’ll learn more about them and they’ll learn more about you.

If things get testy, don’t push it.

Besides, why not stash your judgement for more important things than calling bullshit when no one else hears you?

People need to be the hero of their own lives, and apparently some need you to know just how heroic.

Be a friend and let them roll with it.

We were at a gathering once where the host told my wife a war story, a Vietnam war story.

He sold it by showing his Army blues.

She mentioned it to the their kids and how proud they must be of their dad.

They were in their twenties and knew their dad’s history well.

The closest he got to Vietnam was the local restaurant and a bowl of pho.

Instead of breaking it all down on the spot, I chalked it up to learning more about people.

Are people all the same?

Your answer depends on your pain threshold.

Or is it pain tolerance?