You're proud of *that*??

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
81

I have three:

#1 - My neighbor, aged 64, brags about the fact that, despite drinking himself to well above the legal limit every day and then driving to the store to buy more booze, has only had 11 DUI’s, and has not been involved in more than 16 injury accidents in his life. Oh, yeah, and he has not spent more than 2 weeks (total) behind bars in more than 46 years of driving drunk.

#2 - My youngest daughter’s ex-best friend is very, very proud of the fact that her 11 week old daughter (born on March 29th) has no mental or physical disabilities.

You may wonder why she would be so very proud of this; please allow me to explain:

She celebrated her 29th birthday on May 5th of this year, and this is her thirteenth (13th) child (yeah, I know - do the math - it boggles the mind!).

Only two of them by the same father, seven years apart.

Eight of her children have Down Syndrome, the other four have severe (as yet not fully diagnosed) mental deficits and life altering physical disabilities (two will spend most of their lives in wheelchairs and skilled nursing facilities - can you guess who’s throwing the bad genes here?).

She is also proud of the fact that she has never married, and had never had to work a day in her life.

Oh, yeah, one more thing:

She just announced last week that she’s pregnant.

Again.*

Your tax dollars are hard at work.

#3 - Related to number 2 above is her current live-in sex partner (also presumed to be the father of #14): this, uh, ummm, errr, gentleman, is actually quite proud of the fact that he has never quit a job in his life. He is 32 years old, is a very talented welder (I’ve seen his work - he really is very good!), and has worked for (buy his count) 129 employers.

One hundred twenty nine employers in the 14 years since graduating from high school.**

But he’s never “quit” a job.

There’s something I’m certain that we could all be proud of.

Lucy.

*Just for fun, go back and read the first sentence again … just dropped number 13 eleven weeks ago … can you even get pregnant that fast? If so, can they even verify a pregnancy at this point? If she hadn’t made the same type of announcement on Memorial day one year ago I’d never even give it a second thought …

**My math puts that at about an average of 6 weeks on each job.

Disclaimer: Unlike the unskilled, uncontrolled human reproduction machine mentioned in #2 above (whom I’ve known since she was 9 years old), I’ve only known this guy for a little over a year, so I can’t speak to what happened before I met him. I do know that he’s worked for eight different employers in the time that I’ve been acquainted with him, and, no, he didn’t quit any of those jobs - he was most definitely and unceremoniously fired in each and every case.

Actually, you really can’t make shit like this up. How could anyone ever believe that someone else would believe it, let alone be proud of it? That would just be insane!

82

To jump on this, I’m somewhat “proud” that, having bought only 3 Bond film vhs’s or dvd’s before now due to their being overpriced), just yesterday I was at Barnes & Noble’s buy-two-get-3rd-one-free sale (thru 6/30) and bought volumes 2 & 3 of the new “ultimate” sets. Each has 10 dvds, with 5 Bond flix each, plus “extras”. They were stickered at $59.95 each, less 10% as they were items over $29.95, less another 10% for my affinity card membership, less another 5% because I used my B&N Visa card, so, with the free volume 4, I paid $4.00 for each of 15 movies, or $2.00 each for each dvd including the “extras”. Brings back memories of the second Bond film I saw “first run” (Goldfinger) in the theater at the Gibraltar Naval Base right after my US Navy ship moored there in January 1964. Must look vor volume one later this month or next January or June when B&N repeats their 3-for-price-of-2 sale.

83

I’m very proud of this, too. Not just from my first engineering job, but in my six since then.

(I’m male)

84

Be aware that ballasts can go bad and catch on fire and/or emit dense/noxious smoke.

85

As a doper I’m taking you at your word, but quite frankly that scenario seems improbable in terms of

1: Basic genetic probability
2: In utero Downs screening has been available for over 20 years
3: Deciding to bring to term and take on the care of 12 developmentally disabled kids seems at odds with the description of someone so careless and irresponsible

86

I’m proud of having never seen more than the occasional (accidental) snippet of my country’s most vomit-inducing TV creations:

Home & Away
Neighbours
I don’t know how long these things have been running, but I’m 24 and it feels like most of my life. I am confident that it’s more than half of my life. And I think they’re on every weekday.

We need to put these things out of their misery.

87

I had a boss who once said that he respects people who take credit for other people’s skill and hard work.

If my level respect for him was the water level in a glass of water, the base of the glass fell off at that moment.

88

With Apologies to the OP, Possible Hijack follows:

If I understand even a little bit of the information in that link correctly, and I’m not at all certain that I do, the science says I’ve got a better chance of hitting a megajackpot on my next visit to the casino.

Yet there it is. Can’t explain it, ain’t even gonna try. Can’t change the heartbreaking fact, either. Read the last line of my post again. You really can’t make shit like this up. Who’d ever believe it?

Each and every pregnancy was diagnosed early term, and in each case that I have limited first hand knowledge of, especially the 4 extreme cases (none of which involve Down Syndrome, btw), I was told that the medical professionals suggested alternatives to allowing the pregnancy to go full term (termination of the pregnancy? I don’t know … is that something that is suggested in such cases? In at least two of the states she’s birthed in, UT and ID, I don’t think they can do that …)

(She’s also a conniving little wench and has gone to great lengths, with the help of her family (and more specifically her mother) to make certain that she never deals with the same medical professionals twice. Thirteen [soon to be fourteen] kids born in thirteen [soon to be fourteen] different hospitals in seven [soon to be eight] different states …)

However, despite that and …

… despite that, she was raised in a fundamentally weird fundamental religious sect and termination was not even considered as an option in any of the pregnancies.

(The other point - one which she, herself, freely and proudly admits - is that she makes more money on state subsistence than she could ever make working a job. Please don’t even get me started down that road. I could write a book several thousand pages thick …)

It should also be noted, that she rarely is ever actually involved in the day-to-day care and nurturing of her children. Most of that falls to her mother, two of her siblings, and others (including medical and social professionals) better equipped to provide the care. Frankly, I don’t think she has the mental capacity to do it herself …

Didn’t say she was smart, certainly not responsible. She probably suffers from some of the same mental deficiencies that she is passing on to her children, so I’m not even sure she entirely understands what she’s done/doing. Actually, the entire situation is so gut wrenchingly sad, so pathetic, so … well, words fail me.

My wife is a former CNA and frequently watches some of the kids, as does my daughter. They used to be best friends, went to school together till [NameWithheld] dropped out, but my daughter only maintains contact now because she cares so much for the kids. My daughters eldest kid and her eldest have develop a strong friendship in the past couple of years.

Still, many tears, sadness and frustration abound. Several attempts have been made to have the state intervene. Whenever is looks like they’re getting close she packs up her herd and moves to another state.

I’ve watched as all of this has unfolded, lo, these many years, at times from afar, at other times, like these past 3 years, from just across town. I deal with it mostly by not dealing with it. My wife thinks it is better that way, and I respect her judgement. At present, at this distance, at least she can help to ensure the kids are not being physically abused.

Thank you for taking me at my word. All this really deserves a Pit Thread all it’s own, but - like I’ve said - nobody’d believe it without documentation (and I certainly ain’t goin’ there).

Didn’t mean to hijack the thread. I was merely responding to your disbelief to my answer to the question in the OP: You’re proud of that?

She is.

And it still boggles …

Lucy

89
  1. I have never ever watched a single second of any Bachelor/Bachelorette shows, or Survivor.

B) I work for a public school district, and while I get away with business casual during the school year - which usually means khakis and a weather appropriate sweater or shirt - shorts are frowned on. So starting with the first day of summer break, right to the last, I wear only shorts no matter the weather. Also, summer is time to put away my socks unless someone dies or gets married.

90

A girl I went to school with couldn’t wait to attend our high school reunion to show off to everyone that she was still with the same guy she’d dated in high school. Considering their marriage isn’t entirely happy and he’s a tight-fisted jerk, I’m not sure why she thought everyone would be sick with jealousy to see they were still together. Her life’s great accomplishment to date is being with the same man for 14 years, even though she’s told me she’d leave him if she thought she had any hope of meeting someone else.

Meanwhile, her SIL has bragged in front of me about the fact that she lets her 6 year old drink Coca Cola. It’s like she made up her mind when she was a child that her mother was mean for not letting her have Coke and she hasn’t let years and experience change that opinion at all. I can’t see why it’s a source of pride that she allows her child to drink a caffeinated, sugary beverage.

91

Coincidentally, we have this.

92

Under most circumstances, yes, but there are some unusual (but entirely possible) scenarios in which an individual can reliably produce a large number of Down’s Syndrome offspring.

Down’s Syndrome is normally caused by an extra chromosome 21. If she has a mutation which causes her to have problems apportioning chromosomes during germ cell production, she would produce a lot of ova that have extra or missing chromosomes. Virtually all conceptions with extra or missing chromosomes will miscarry within the first few weeks or months, only those with a relatively mild phenotype like Down’s Syndrome will survive. This is consistent with her having lots of Down’s kids, but not with her overall fertility - you would expect her to have had many, many miscarriages.

The other option that I can think of easily is that sometimes Down’s syndrome is caused by carrying an extra part of chromosome 21 (not the whole thing), and sometimes that part is fused to a different chromosome. If she is carrying a chromosomal fusion, statistically half of her children would inherit it, which jibes pretty well with your description of things. Whatever chromosomal breakage/fusion process produced the chromosome 21 fusion may be responsible for the defects in her other children, too.

Either of these scenarios would be unusual but totally plausible.

93

I am proud at my ability to carry things. Mostly grocery store bags. We once had to buy something like 20 boxes of Saltines for work and I was helping my boss bring them in. The baggers only put 2-3 boxes in each bag, so there were around ten. I carried them all in and opened the door.

I’m proud that, no matter how many bags there are, I can carry everything in in one trip.

Also I’m proud of the fact that I can do most things without using my thumbs. I found out that I can put my thumbs behind my pointer finger knuckle and decided to teach myself to do things without using them. You know, just in case I ever lose a thumb. Yeah, this is pretty useless. The twisting my thumb bit is a nice party trick, though. When I do a “thumbs-up” it is pointing down.

94

I am proud of my uncanny ability, developed from over 25 years of riding the NYC subway system and having had many regular commutes on different train lines, of being able to pick out where on the platform the subway doors will end up – within one doorway width. This means less now that many platforms have the door spots marked with boxes labeled “STAND CLEAR” (which of course have the opposite effect of clustering waiting passengers by the door prior to the train’s arrival), but it’s still a useful skill to have to ensure that I pretty much am always able to get on the next arriving train even if the platform is already crowded when I get there.

And don’t you dare mention the phrase “Selection Bias”!

95

I’m always stunned at people who are proud to have never read newspapers, or books. I’m further agog at design magazines which picture artfully decorated rooms with books as props. They don’t just place the books without comment; no, they suggest acquiring books for their looks only. Some even go so far as to suggest turning them around (with spines toward the wall, edge of pages out) for a new chic look! :eek: :smack:

I cannot fathom Lucy’s daughter’s ex-friend. It’s sad beyond my words to describe. It seems like a lot of trouble to go to, somehow, to ‘prove’ anything. Pregnancy and childbirth ain’t easy.

96

I once knew of a family who had, if I’m remembering correctly, four little girls who were all wheelchair-bound and incapacitated by a genetic defect - in other words, after finding out what the problem was after the first one, that all of their future children would never be able to look after themselves, these guys had three more kids. One of the parents of these girls was a doctor. People can be unbelievably stupid, even the smart ones.

97

As mischievous noted, the mother of multiple Downs syndrome kids in LucyInDisguise’s story probably has a genetic defect - probably what is known as a
Robertsonian translocation.

98

One year I had been such a regular at a certain infamous Colorado mountain bar that they named me Customer of the Year. :rolleyes:

And gave me a watch. :cool:

There are loads of TV shows (like American Idol) that I’ve never seen. It was never really a “pride” thing - I’m just not interested.

99

I’m proud of having been “accused” of having a strong feminine side by my son’s father-in-law. And at the same time I’m proud of being a somewhat manly man.

100

I am proud of having watch at least three episodes.

You have to try new things.

And justify why you only watch PBS.