Tuesday 6 January 2009

Heredity

Tuesday 2:12 p.m.
Instead of opening at lunchtime yesterday, I locked the doors and curled up on the floor under my desk and took a wee nap. Knew I couldn't be right, so I called in with another disease today. Well, it's the same disease; it's just come back.

At the weekend I met this young man who was so phobic about dentists he was on the strong painkillers and awaiting a general anaesthetic for extractions ... in six weeks time.

You wouldn't want to be like that, Jack! What could be worse? Well, a lot of things, but you wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Before he was born, his old man was phobic about the dentists, but not quite as bad.

The kiddo bites her skin at the side of her nails. She only started doing this when she was about seventeen. I couldn't believe it. Her mother did the same thing at her age. Whenever the kiddo starts this in front of me, I tell her to go do it in the toilet. For a while, I thought her mother must have started biting his fingers again when I wasn't there, and thus the kiddo picked up this habit. But no. What a coincidence!

I saw this programme about identical twins once. These two had been parted as kids. They didn't like each other when they met up again; same dress sense, drove the same car; married to the same type of woman. What really drove one of them mad was the other one suddenly sneezing in the theatre, just before the curtain came up ... to startle the folk nearby. He'd already done this a lift and he did it on both occasions just before his identical twin, who also had this endearing wee habit.

Of course, we have to take responsibility for everything we do and are completely autonomous as regards will and all that. Oh, aye. Sometimes it seems as if we're living out bits of other people, dead ones at that.


What do you think, Jack? Well, Hotboy, if your head is jammed up your backside, how can you expect to be certain about anything?

I watched a documentary about the Thrilla in Manila last night, but they didn't show the whole fight. Ali was wanting his gloves cut off after the fourteenth round, but Smokin Joe's trainer called it off first. Joe Frazier couldn't see, but he was not wanting it stopped. His trainer had seen eight men killed in the ring and well done to him. He didn't regret it afterwards though Joe wouldn't speak to him. It is a bit difficult to justify men doing that kind of thing to each other, but when I get broadband I must see if I can download the whole fight. I'd love to watch it straight through. Something heroic.

7 comments:

Heather said...

Have had similar contemplations on heredity...especially when I watch Aidan walk around, and I think "He walks just like my grandmother!" (Who died before I met Eric)

And I am sure that Harry was once a theravedan...his favorite color to wear is orange. Slightly different than heredity, but then again...

Hotboy said...

Heather! There was snow here today for the first time this winter. Nothing to do with the post. It didn't lie so no need for snowblowers to get out the building! Hotboy

Hotboy said...

Heather: If I remember right, things which seem separate and singular are really made up of lots of bits and connected. Maybe it's something about self. But what are the bits making us up? I tend to want to emphasise the nature as opposed to nurture side of the argument more than folk usually do when the nurturing is okay. Hotboy

Anonymous said...

Hereabouts one sometimes lives out bits of the dead Dazzle. Also one's father of course, that's heredity.

PS by snowblower I think you mean your good self. Expensive habit.

Hotboy said...

Albert? I don't have expensive bad habits anymore, only cheap ones. Hotboy

Anonymous said...

I think folks may have genetic tendencies to behavior. But I believe all behavior is learned.

I've got nephews who are identical twins. I've always been able to tell them apart, even, when their mother couldn't.

Interesting idea to get you to waste time sitting in front of the telly. I expect for every case they find where they have the 'right' results, there are a multitude of ones that go against it.

Hotboy said...

Marie: I just never understood the sneezing habit of the identical twins. Weird. Hotboy