23 August 2020

Stupidity

From time to time we all do stupid things. I guess that this is part of being human. Whereas some self-deprecating people seem to imagine that it is their stupid actions that define them, others go into denial when quizzed about stupidity. If you asked a leading politician, "What are the most stupid things you have ever done?" they would not be up front. They would squirm and cunningly try to twist the question to their advantage.

How about you?  What are the most stupid things you have ever done? At least - the things you are prepared to admit. Here's a few of mine...

  • I once poured coke on a plate of fish and chips - thinking that it was a bottle of malt vinegar. (My daughter has never let me forget this!)
  • When I was eighteen I went on an LSD trip the weekend before my Art A level plant drawing practical exam on Monday morning. The result was most unimpressive.
  • I once went to see a Scottish folk band at the McRobert Centre in Stirling, Scotland. Before the concert I was talking to a fellow at the bar. He asked me what I thought of The Boys of the Lough and I said they were a bit too staid and traditional for my liking. Later I saw him on stage. He was Aly Bain, fiddle player of The Boys of the Lough.
  • Ten years ago I fell down our stairs while tying the belt of my dressing-gown. Fortunately I was not seriously injured but it was a huge shock. Since then I have been scrupulous about holding on to handrails and banisters.
  • In 1990 I hired a roof ladder and climbed up on our house roof to remove the metal cap from one of our chimneys. When I think of swinging that ladder over the eaves and hooking it on to the ridge tiles I still shudder. Why the hell didn't I just pay somebody to go up there? Again, fortunately, I was not hurt.
  • Last year I lost the accommodation key at our daughter's wedding and though all was okay in the end, losing that key really spoilt my wedding morning preparations - both practical and emotional. It's hard to forget.
  • In Lautoka, Fiji in 1973 I got talking to a beautiful Fijian woman in a late night bar  and before long two of her male friends came to join us. The three of them robbed me - taking my wallet and watch which to my amusement had got water in it from when I went swimming a couple of days before. It was no longer working and there were only about ten Fijian dollars in my wallet. Poetic justice!

Now I come to think about it, there are plenty of other stupid times I could recount though some others remain forever vetoed. Over to you...

23 comments:

  1. What a charmed life you have led (up to now). And what constitutes "stupid"? The initial action or its outcome?

    I once did something very stupid (my tolerance and disdain for stupid being low). Though no harm was done. Guardian Angel, Lady Luck and all that. It was so stupid (mitigating circumstance, I was only twenty) I have never ever told anyone about it other than, maybe, the Angel as one does like to lead by example. HOW NOT TO DO SOMETHING stupid.

    Let's just say it involved a Christmas tree and a bath tub.

    Other than that, no, not much stupid. Which I mainly thank my father for. When I was a youngster he was forever on the prowl warning me of all things that could go wrong and how to make sure they didn't. Main thing not to set the house on fire.

    U

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    1. Christmas tree and a bath tub? Intriguing.

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    2. I know you and I clash terribly but I I am so intrigued

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    3. John, I wish I could satisfy your curiosity. I can't. At the memory I cringe, I cross my legs, I blush, I take an eraser to it. If anyone knew they'd disown me. Or be so happy how stupid even I can be they'd laugh with joy and forgive me I exist.

      U

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    4. YP, in the wake of your post having reflected further on the theme of doing something stupid, here is a question for you (and your readers): Where does one draw that fine line between stupid and reckless? Looking back over the years I most certainly have done some reckless things. Shockingly so. If I were my daughter or something I'd have a word or two to say. Best I can come up with, in the courtroom, that I took calculated risks. Though "calculated" and "risk" seemingly a contradiction in terms. Unless you are an underwriter.

      U

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    5. A Christmas tree and a bathtub?! The mind reels! :)

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  2. My first visit to a Chinese takeaway. I didn't know what to order so I look at the menu and asked for beans and Sprouts soup instead of beansprout soup.🍮

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    1. When I first went in an Indian takeaway the names of the dishes meant nothing to me. I ordered a dahl - thinking it might have something to do with the author - Roald Dahhl.

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  3. This is such an interesting premise. What IS stupid? Is it "stupid" if we do something out of complete ignorance? Or out of teenaged beliefs and hormones and inexperience? Maybe. I don't' know. I do know that I've done so many stupid things in my life and indeed, do stupid things every day that I could not count them all. Or recount them all. I suppose the latest really stupid thing I did was to choose the very worst shoes to run down wet steps in to hang up a hummingbird feeder.

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    1. Ouch! I was thinking of that but didn't like to say. Questioning the very meaning of the word "stupid" sounds like a philosophical debate in an ivory tower.

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  4. There are far too many stupid things I have done in my life to list off.

    I once wore an extremly short dress to a nursing job interview. Shaking my head now.

    Got involved with alcoholics over and over and over.

    Didn't finish my nursing degree. I have my diploma but not a degree.

    The list is endless really, sadly.

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    1. If I had been the chair of the interview panel, that short dress would have got you the job instantly. No need to ask or answer any questions.

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  5. Yeah, that's the problem with making a list of "stupid" actions -- once a person starts it can be hard to stop! I know I would have no problem coming up with ten things I've done that embarrass me. But I'm not sure I will. LOL

    I remember that problem with the key on Frances' wedding day. Ugh. But the important thing is, it all worked out in the end.

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    1. Yup! At least it happened to me and not to Frances or Stew. I took one for the team as they say!

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  6. I know I've done quite a few stupid things but when I try to think of them my mind goes blank. (probably a type of self-protection!) I don't think something like you losing the key last year is a stupid thing. You obviously had a lot on your mind and that is often when those things happen. It would have been stupid if you lost it on purpose, which of course you didn't!

    A stupid thing I did on purpose was in my senior year of High School I played in a Donkey Basketball game fundraiser. Donkey Basketball games were a thing back then and it was truly one of the dumbest things I've ever done! You ride them without saddles and they tend to throw you off a lot. It's also not the kindest thing for the donkey either.

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    1. Jenny at "Procrastinating Donkey" won't be happy to learn this. She's a big fan of donkeys.

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  7. Stupid things? Too many to mention!

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    1. You do something stupid? I can't imagine that!

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    2. Well, maybe I shouldn't have said anything. So that was stupid!

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  8. I go with the philosophical thread in the comments - what is stupid? Wrong decisions taken? funny things you forget - daily sadly. Living a long life means we have committed hundreds of silly things!

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  9. Like Steve, I also remember you telling us about the lost key at your daughter's wedding.
    When it comes to my own stupidity, there were maybe a handful of rather delicate situations of a sexual nature which, in hindsight, I was extremely lucky to come out of perfectly alright with no harm done to anyone.
    I would define the degree of stupidity last but not least by the degree of regret or remorse. Was it stupid to stop making an effort at school and therefore never going to uni? It probably was, but I do not regret any of the jobs I have done after school, from my Librarian training to working at trade shows and everything in between.
    Was it stupid to marry at 22, a man who had a totally different background and outlook from mine? Yes, and it ended up in divorce, but I still benefit from those years spent as part of a Sicilian family - language being just one aspect.

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    1. Thanks for doing me the honour of contemplating this question. I shall not ask for any elaboration with regard to your second sentence.

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  10. well there was that time i backed out of the garage with the car door open. That made a mess

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