History & Entertainment You’re Not As Weird As You Think


SANTA ROSA, CA. ~ O.K., we can all relax, let out a big sigh of relief and go forward in our lives knowing one thing for


sure. We are


all weird. Every one of us, to a certain degree (some more than others, others less than some) is a bona-fide, nut-job, loony-tuner. If at this point anyone is thinking “Well, I’m not that weird!” Yes, you are. Ask your family, they’ll


tell


you. I don’t need to ask, I’ve been told. However, at this point in my life, I’ve decided to embrace my insanity, revel in my neurosis and dance to the tune of my own crazy little off-beat drummer. It’s fun and quite liberating.


Eleanor Roosevelt once


said, “You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.” Perfect. Why do we worry ourselves over the opinions of others? As long as we are not hurting or bothering people, I don’t think what we do should con- cern them. Certainly not how we dress, what we believe or who we choose as friends. I think perhaps the people who do the most criticizing, do so because it is far easier to judge others than it is to take a good hard look at their own short-


comings. My heart goes out to these individuals; they can’t be terribly happy if they’re always looking for faults or seeing only the negative in people. It sounds exhausting. Maybe someone should tell them that we all know they are super weird, too, but we love them anyway. Would they lis- ten?


I think we start believing


we are abnormally odd some- where around puberty. Prior to this, we don’t consider others opinions that much. Look at little kids on the playground. Not one of them under the age of 10 is flipping out, wonder- ing if the other kids think their clothes are ‘so last season’. They just want a turn on the swings. They will make up silly words or songs and laugh out loud instead of trying to explain or justify what they meant. Kids will investigate each other’s belly buttons, loose teeth and any injury that might result in a scab. And are they grossed out? Nope. They relate to whatever it


learn about their own bodies, thus making them feel


is and less


awkward. They even bond over it.


Unfortunately, that wears


off during the teen years. This is when body image kicks in.


Girls wonder if the boy they like feels the same, not know- ing that the boys are all wor- ried about what the girls they like think of them. Chubby kids wish they were thinner, skinny kids wish they could bulk up. Shorter wish they were taller, taller get sick of hearing, “How’s the weather up there?” It’s a mess. Then society chimes in with its two cents. “Where are you going to college?” “What career are you pursuing?” Add some family, “Why do you like that music/person/food?” It’s a wonder we ever learn to think and act on our own, much less learn to ignore the unsolicited advice and opinions of the other equally odd inhabitants of earth.


I believe the more peo- ple communicate their real thoughts


and feelings, the


more relaxed we could all become, knowing that we’re not so terribly different. Most of us just want to be happy, secure and loved. We worry about a lot of the same things. Our bodies go through chang- es, we worry. Our children go through changes, we worry. I say let’s all start blabbing our deepest thoughts to any- body who will listen. They’ll know they aren’t alone in their


Upbeat in Madison, Wisconsin! education is expensive, If you think


try ignorance. Andy McIntyre and Derek Bok


Phychic & Healing Readings


UPBEAT TIMES • September 2013 • 19


By Guest Writer Cindy Cowan seacyd@comcast.net


thinking and we just might get some added insight. We should all try to be often as


more childlike, as


possible. Kids will tell any- body just about


anything,


without concern over what others may think. They just do/say whatever strikes them at the moment. Wouldn’t it be fun to go up to a stranger, tell them you like their shoes and ask if they want to play? Can you imagine the reactions you would get? It might be worth it for the expressions alone. Or wear the most mismatched clothes you can find and act like you meant to, then make up a song and belt it out loud! The ideas are endlessly enter- taining, but I am somewhat serious. So, for the sake of proving my theory, the next time a friend tells me they had dental work, I may just stick my fingers in their mouth, pry it open and exclaim, “Cool! Let me see!” Then I’ll ask them if they want to see my belly button. Is that weird? Good!


JOKES & Humor # 8


One year, a Mother decreed that she was no longer going to remind her children of their thank-you note duties.


As a result, their Grandmother never received acknowledgments of the


generous checks she had given for their birthdays.


The next year things were different, however.


"The children came over in person to thank me," the Grandmother told a friend triumphantly.


"How wonderful!" the friend exclaimed. "What do you think caused the change in behavior?"


"Oh, that's easy," the Grandmother replied. "This year I didn't sign the checks."


NORTH BAY ITALIAN CULTURAL FOUNDATION Presents: 23rd ANNUAL


FESTA ITALIANA


Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013 • 11:00 am ~ 6:00 pm Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Hall


y p


Maple at Brookwood Avenue, Santa Rosa (off Hwy 12 East) FOOD ~ FAMILY ~ FUN


e at Brookwood Avenue, Santa Rosa (off Hwy 12 Info: www.nbicf.org ~ 707-591-9696


Folk music & dancing, opera, classic auto show, silent auction & raffle, travel & language programs, shopping, bocce and fun activities for kids by the Children’s Museum of Sonoma County.


Entertainers: Don Giovannis, Balliamo Dancers, Zighi Baci with Michael Van Why, Steve Albini, The Roman Gladiators, Viva Opera Ensemble and our own Coro Allegro.


Ed Fraire in Madison, Wisconsin, takes an Upbeat break in front of the Capital building. Fraire had been walking the Farmers’ Market that lines the streets of Capital Square.


By Yerevan (707)-775-5600


www.ReadingsByYerevan.com The only way to make a man trustworthy is to trust him. ~Henry L. Stimson


Santa Rosa: La Vera Pizza, Lazzini’s Market, Nonni’s Ristorante, The Villa Ristorante, Western Farm Center & NBICF Italian Cultural Center Healdsburg: Costeaux’s Bakery. Petaluma: Rosso’s Pizzeria Sebastopol: Peoples Music


Piizza La Advance Donattiion $10


Ticket Outlets: az izi ini’’s


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UPBEAT TIMES • September 2013 • 19


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