Everyone has limits
Our lives are filled with boundaries, restrictions.
In this column I am limited in the number of words to be used to fill my allotted space in the Norfolk and Tillsonburg News, which have been reduced from the former Tillsonburg News. Sometimes I do not use my curtailed number of words as effectively as I should. I forget there is a whole bunch of folks with whom I have not been having these conversations for some 30 years. I appreciate when someone points this out. That’s why I include my email address.
Recently, I was made aware of my limits when told I should watch more than CNN and open my mind to other viewpoints. I agree we all need to explore different perspectives. I don’t watch talk shows masquerading as news but I do check coverage presented by credible reporters and journalists on The National, CTV and CBC News, CNN, Fox News, etc. to gain an inclusive overview. I realize what’s going on in the States affects us up here so I keep an eye on them.
Maybe the idea I only watch CNN comes from my addition of new words from CNN. It’s not the only program I watch but it seems the only one that uses words I have never heard before. Maybe I have a limited vocabulary, but I like to share with others who, like me, might be lexis-limited. Occasionally, in a moment of high anxiety, I may even share a random thought.
Watching news channels can be more entertaining than the movies. You get every genre of theatrical content in one or two days – comedy, drama, sci-fi, mystery, noir, romance, thriller, war, family, biography, crime, horror, action, fantasy, etc. I can get overwhelmed with all the information, opinions and theories we are bombarded with on a daily basis. When I have reached my limit there are many things I do to bathe my brain, empty my mind and cleanse my thoughts.
I watch Ink Masters, reruns of Star Trek, or sports. I gather with friends for a garden, porch or stoop visit or wander in Mae’s gardens, which will offset the anxiety, settle one’s nerves and quiet the noise. I cook, bake, mow the grass, or work in the garden. I often put on The Dynamos CD and dance with abandon.
The hardest part for me is the editing down, the extreme cutting I have to do to get this column within my allotted number of words and I now, again, I have already surpassed my limit.
twocentsworth40@gmail.com