| When the Caretaker was writing about getting distracted I had to snicker. Here is a guy who has been reprimanded countless times to show more concentration and less distraction – I was thinking of myself, if you had any doubt at all. Getting distracted (or shall we call this side-tracked?) has been my problem ever since I started out in school. When the school miss was trying her very best to make us understand the alphabet or simple math, I always found something more interesting outside the windows or I just happened to have an important conversation going on with my neighbours. It also seemed that there was always some student talking to me when I just tried living up to my teachers expectations – or so I thought. When the school year was over we got our evaluations. During the first school grades we did not get characters. In Germany numbers ranged from 1 – 6 with 1 being the best and six the worst. So instead of numbers we had a written evaluation. In my booklet it read something like this: Peter is a good and interested student, but he is side-tracked too easily. There!  I have always been interested in way to many things at the same time. But there was one thing I was never interested in – Sports. I absolutely hated all kind of ball games and often times I simply went home when the others indulged in getting their weekly drill.Until today, I have never watched a single soccer game nor any other ball game. I never understood the meaning with it and I still hate the wild screaming going on under those “games”.  People always tried to tell me that gym was good for our health. In reality my fellow students got off it with broken arms, stretched ankles and scrubbed up faces. Me, I was never in a hospital for things like that, and doctors have never been part of my everyday life. In fact I avoid them all I can. Something I have inherited from my Dad – no doubt. Speaking of Dad: Talked to him today. He’s approaching ninety and complains that he can’t do “anything” anymore. While that is absolutely true he is still very disappointed about it. I tried to tell him that everybody will be getting to that stage – but of course it’s not of any consolation to him. “When you were 30 or 40 did you ever think about getting to be eighty or even ninety?” I asked. No he hadn’t. When I was twenty I never thought of being sixty one day. Now I’m there. Surprisingly I still have a lot of fun. But 25-30 years down the road I might not have that fun anymore. Who knows – I better not think of it now. Life is good!  But now I was getting side-tracked again. |
Thursday, August 29, 2013
About Getting Distracted
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I can guarantee when Jim is fishing he does not get distracted. But if I need him to get something done around the rig - it's amazing everything that can pop up that is so much more interesting.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm right up there with you in not being interested in sports. Either watching or playing. Never cared much for Gym class either. There aren't too many around like us you know & I do have a distant German background. Say, you don't suppose.........Nawwwwww.
ReplyDeleteSame here with the sports, never played and cannot seem to enjoy watching those games either.
ReplyDeleteI never would have thought I would lived to be 60 years old, but have passed that mark and still having fun too.
Like you said,"Life is good!"
I seem to have the attention span of a gnat. There, I said it.
ReplyDeleteNever had much interest in sports, and I think part of that was that our Phys Ed. teachers were a couple of nitwits. Never got to do the cool sports like golf until the later grades. By then I was out. Had other things to fill my timetable.
BUT, I did go to games in the spirit band. Played baritone sax. Had a great time. It can be a challenge playing in the cold though, and that's usually when they play football.