At my 50th high school reunion, I found I had spent my life differently.. I went to an all-male public high school. Going there was actually the result of a choice I had made to study Latin. I had heard Latin was a basic language and I knew it was ancient. I didn't know that 9th grade Latin could only be followed up for another year in a high school on the other side of the city of a million. I spent long hours daily on public transportation. Not a mistake, but not typical, either. That was just the start. The other guys did not go into education. I did not join the armed forces.
I thought yesterday's blog picture showed Lynn AT the center of the universe but it turns out, she IS the center. I didn't realize that until this morning when she got me straightened out. Here I have been married to the Center of the Universe for more than 50 years and didn't know it! She just informed me that she and our friend, who is also the center of the universe, have peacefully decided to share the center.
When I got a ticket from Officer Lopez in Texas and from Officer Hansen in Wisconsin, I made the same mistake both times in both places. I don't like getting a ticket so when I get one, my impulse is to pay it off. Right away! In Texas, about 10 years ago, I was visiting and didn't have my computer. I went in person, found the Pay Here window and was told I was too early. They had no information from the officer. Come back later or wait until later and pay over the telephone. Now, today, in Wisconsin, I do have my computer. I paid online. A few days later, a nice lady calls to say the billing service is refunding my fine since they had been informed by the municipal court that they had no information that I had gotten a ticket. Since I had my citation right in front of me, I was confident I had gotten a ticket. I called and they took my information. They said they would look me up. Next day, they called and said they had found me. And yes, I owed a fine. See? Again, too fast, too atypical.
I was a sergeant in the drum and bugle corp. I can hear a beat, produce a beat and stay with a beat. I know how to get in step and stay in step. But, I am still not normal. How can I move toward more normality, greater typicality? Should I? Google returns more than 1 billion, 800 millions results to the query "How to be normal?" I intend to read them all and take them to heart, digest them, re-do myself. You'll see. I can be just as normal as you are
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