Ostomy Memories of a Dissatisfied "Reader"

YOU CAN’T PLEASE EVERYONE and if you could, what fun would that be? Recently I received a post comment from a person who wondered “what do you do all day besides writing on here” [there was no question mark]. My feeling was that the tone of the inquiry was rather negative and disapproving, as if to say… haven’t you anything better to do? The person seemed to think that, since I post something every day, I must spend all day doing it. So I thought for a moment about how much time each post takes on the average, figured about forty minutes, realized that I spend approximately five minutes each time I have to empty, guessed the number of times I do that during the day to be eight, five times eight is forty, bingo. Assuming this person also empties about the same number of times, I responded as follows: “Well, the day is 24-hours long. I spend about as much time writing a post as you spend every day in the bathroom. So I have as much free time for the rest of my day as you do.” It occurred to me that the recipient of my reply might not be pleased with it and, lo and behold, I was right. The response came back in ALL CAPS: “…I TRY TO BE OUT OF THE HOUSE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE…I DON’T READ THEM (reference to my posts)” the person assured me. It seems to me that Jennifer Jones was right when she declared that if you could choose to have one particular characteristic that would get you through life, “choose a sense of humor.” So I find this sad little dust-up rather amusing. Perish forbid this person should waste precious time reading my little posts, or not, especially if I spend less than an hour each day on them. Of course, I’m typing on a laptop, and some days I’m writing my post “OUT OF THE HOUSE.” Too bad this person will never know that, since s/he doesn’t read my posts anyway, and so s/he won’t be offended by my making light of his/her pettiness. Okay…I’m leaving the house now.

Henry,

You write till your heart's content! You bring joy to so many of us! Thank you.

Henry,

You write till your heart's content! You bring joy to so many of us! Thank you.

Hello HenryM.
I wondered how you might approach replying to this question (without a question mark!) and you have not in any way disappointed me. I do enjoy reading your posts for their wit, entertainment, education, and motivation to rhyming verse.
Writing in rhyme seems to be quite off-putting to quite a lot of people so, the genre can attract comments along similar lines of implying that it is a gross waste of time. I find it interesting that those who see something as wasting time are often involved in their own time-wasting exercises without recognising that, from someone else’s perspective that’s precisely what it is.
I have put pen to paper a number of times on the subject of doing ‘nothing’ and ‘wasting time’ but I leave you with the thought that some people choose to ‘do-something’ (like writing) rather than doing something else (like nothing):

Best wishes

Bill

THOSE WHO DO AND THOSE WHO DON’T.

There’s those who do and those who don’t,
those who will and those who won’t.
I don’t want to be the latter
but for most it doesn’t matter.

I think the rationality
comes part from personality.
The child will show from early dates
one or the other of these traits.

Then throughout their childhood years
guided by their wants and fears
the child will practice their own style
and that determines their profile.

How their parents are involved;
how their problems get resolved;
how their worries would get fixed
and how emotions all are mixed.

These things all have an influence
and help to set a precedence.
Some will choose to be compliant
others grow to be defiant.

And there is no coincidence
when children grow self-confidence.
A lot’s to do with upbringing
and the guiding of their thinking.

For those who have the love and care
and their parents being there
stand a better chance to grow
and know which of the ways to go.

These are the ones most likely to
get up and go and want to ‘do’.
They’re the ones who won’t stand still,
they’re the ones who say “I will”.

                                        B. Withers 2012
         ( p.70 in: ’A rhyming Cookbook’ 2013)

Henry... I personally look forward to reading your posts every day. Keep 'em coming... and thank you. The person to whom you are referring... perhaps can't write.

My Ostomy Journey: LeeAnne | Hollister

...or read.  LOL

Without regular posters like yourself and others who post stories, jokes, and pictures, this site would be very boring. Thank you for your good-natured posts. You are the Herb Cane of this site!

Thank you, Maried.  One of my favorite quotes is by Herb Caen:  "I tend to live in the past because most of my life is there."  

That's a great quote for most of us, Henry, as we come to terms with our condition. For me personally, participating in sports was a great part of my life until I got that dreaded phone call. I was 55 and still competing. In Oz, it's called white line fever. It's a strange scenario: once you cross that white line, you're an enemy, but when the game's over, you're good mates. And that is in the past, but you look for the good in every bad, and my good was to appreciate the more time I got to spend with my kids and grandkids, which is priceless. It taught me to get my priorities right.

Hi Henry,

I am a new member here, and I would like to say I enjoy all you have posted here. I look forward to it. Never stop!

I remember reading your post and the member who wrote that comment back to you. I myself was a little taken aback and, to me, just being simply rude.

That's too bad, really!

Ty, take care.

BAYS