# I Pit my dad for unironically pointing out that he retired at 50, and that at 36, I've never worked

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-dad-for-unironically-pointing-out-that-he-retired-at-50-and-that-at-36-ive-never-worked/682738>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [March 3, 2014, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-dad-for-unironically-pointing-out-that-he-retired-at-50-and-that-at-36-ive-never-worked/682738 "2014-03-03T06:03:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 9

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**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-dad-for-unironically-pointing-out-that-he-retired-at-50-and-that-at-36-ive-never-worked/682738/161 "2014-03-11T00:16:55Z")

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> [@Broomstick](#):
>
> P  
> They aren’t my friends, they are, as I said, the clients of my former employer which is why I can’t say anything. You see, if they were my _friends_ I could either ask them for permission to reveal all, invite them to tell their own stories, or change sufficient details to protect their privacy while relating the stories. Because these people were _clients of my employer_, though, I am not at liberty to contact them or say anything useful.
> 
> Winning an argument on a message board isn’t worth running afoul of HIPAA.

You can change details of the stories to protect the privacy of people you’re not friends with, you know. You’d only run afoul of HIPAA if you allowed someone’s identity to be known, NOT if you tell a “I once knew a man who…” story.

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**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-dad-for-unironically-pointing-out-that-he-retired-at-50-and-that-at-36-ive-never-worked/682738/162 "2014-03-11T04:45:28Z")

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> [@Broomstick](#):
>
> Please point to where I said it was NOT his fault.
> 
> Lack of feeling makes it easier for him to be that stupid, just as nerve damage may prevent his body from pissing involuntarily. Really, it isn’t any different than lack of feeling allowing a diabetic to ignore damage that would be horrifically painful to someone without nerve damage.

Wait, wasn’t the whole point that he _deliberately_ refused to void his bladder until it burst? Or did I read that into it?

And uhh, how did they “fix” the problem later? :eek:

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**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-dad-for-unironically-pointing-out-that-he-retired-at-50-and-that-at-36-ive-never-worked/682738/163 "2014-03-11T04:52:54Z")

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> [@buddha\_david](#):
>
> Wait, wasn’t the whole point that he _deliberately_ refused to void his bladder until it burst? Or did I read that into it?
> 
> And uhh, how did they “fix” the problem later? :eek:

I don’t think it was that he was trying to make himself sick. It was more like he felt that winning a fight with his brother was more him important to him than his own health. It sounds like he knew the consequences, but decided to risk it simply out of spite.  
And I believe he had to spend four years in a nursing home as a result.

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**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-dad-for-unironically-pointing-out-that-he-retired-at-50-and-that-at-36-ive-never-worked/682738/164 "2014-03-11T13:46:34Z")

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> [@buddha\_david](#):
>
> Wait, wasn’t the whole point that he _deliberately_ refused to void his bladder until it burst? Or did I read that into it?

Yeah, well, refusing to self-catheterize yourself is deliberately refusing to void, isn’t it?

> [@](#):
>
> And uhh, how did they “fix” the problem later? :eek:

I think that requires surgical repair and a long convalescence.

Pretty sure he won’t try that trick twice.

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