Where Have All the Normal People Gone?
Posted: Saturday, March 26, 2011
by Dave Potchak
PO's Peek at the Past
Take a good look at the people around you, anytime, anyplace. Include those that make the news, your neighbors, your friends, and those you may not care for. Include those you see at Wal-Mart and include your family too – yes, especially your family.
How many of these people would you consider to be normal? Is it just me, or do you have some troubles finding normalcy in people today?
And then there was Mary Jane. I lacked all confidence to speak to her because she was so popular, but still she was a normal, albeit intelligent girl.
Mr. Perdew was a friendly guy my parents knew from church. He had a red, shiny nose with matching red cheeks, but I still considered him to be a normal guy.
I cannot forget my aunts. Yes, the perfume worn by all 17 of them was a little over-powering. A hug and kiss on the cheek from any of them could stop an inhalation better than any form of asphyxiation. But, I considered all aunts, everywhere, to be pretty much the same. Even Aunt Bee who smoked had a likeable, pleasant personality. I could over-look her tobacco aroma in the same manner I did with my dad’s Cutty Pipe stained teeth.
I would even go as far as to include Mrs. Brickman, my first grade teacher. Her hands displayed the same dark spots and wrinkles common on my grandma’s hands. And you would become aware of her presence not by sight or sound, but by her breath. Then again, I just described most of my teachers through elementary school. Basically, they may have been a little different compared to each other, but they were all normal people.
Later on, in my adolescent years, my impressions of people really didn’t change much. I remember though that mom and dad’s comments about others got me thinking. Gossip-filled whispers concerning a young un-wed woman being pregnant is one such memory. I still thought the lady, (the subject of their conversation), was normal, but I could sense that mom and dad did not.
Occasional visits from distant family members on my mom’s side also got me thinking. I began to realize that some of my dad’s comments about these people adjusted my reasoning, to the point where dad didn’t think they were normal at all. Perhaps the wet diaper stains left behind on my parent’s hard wood floors in their bedroom had something to do with that. Or maybe it was the time at dinner when the wife said to her husband about the youngest of their four children. “Look Norman, the baby has mashed potatoes in her hair again.”
Still stuck in my memory bank was the fact that neither parent so much as moved toward the little spud head. My mom was the only one to come to her aid, and she was seated further away from the little one than anyone else.
Is it possible that this visiting family was not normal? After their departure, the non-whisper-like conversation between my parents confirmed all doubts.
Fast forward to today, I’ve discovered some very difficult questions to answer honestly. “Is my wife normal?” “Are my own kids normal?” “Is that guy I see in the mirror every morning normal?”
If I am going to be sincere with my three answers, I’d have to say “No – no way in hell.” I won’t venture any further into my family and acquaintances. I think you get my drift.
Well, what happened to the normal people we knew in our youth? Is it that they lost normalcy with age?
Now, my grandkids are pretty much all normal. But without a doubt the youngest is the most normal and she’s less than two months old.
Having gone full-circle, we’re left with an intriguing set of queries.
“Do we all become less normal with age?” And, if so, Why?
Or, “is it more likely, no one was ever normal to begin with?” And, if so, why didn’t we realize this earlier in our lifetime?
I doubt I could give a valid answer or reason to any of the last few questions. If I could, I may pass anyway. I have a much more important issue to address. I have to hide this article from my wife and the rest of my family members.
Feel free to visit www.pospeek.com
This Article has been viewed 783 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Well Dave if being normal is just being one of the crowd, then I guess I'm not normal. Yes I do carry on in society as being a part, but my beliefs are different than the norm.Hi David, good to hear from you - I guess what I'm saying here is that there is a "norm" in society, yet no one in society is "normal" - does that make sense to you? thanks for commenting. Dave
Your just getting older and your society has passed and the new society emerged. No, it is not the same as we grew up and for that everything is not normal. Neede an example, OK, while we may have cursed and used foul language what happened when we did and it was found out? Today the foul language is common. What of the dancing, music, words in the songs, dress, movies. Simple things I know but it is what you are saying and speaking to. Yes they call it enlightenment. Oh yes and what of usury, character, honesty, integrity? One can go on but you understand. No we are not normal in todays society but we are the few who really are and slowly passing.interesting take - thanks much for responding.....your words do make me feel more normal, but at the same time, I don't know if I really believe them - I feel as abnormal at times as my oddest acquaintances...thanks again, Dave
Hi Dave.
So have you managed to hide it successfully? :)
I have a real problem with words like "normal" and "average" and their ilk. Personally, I can't see that there could ever be any such animal as most people might describe it. Oh my! Am I trying to say that there MIGHT be an average definition for normal? Yikes!
At any rate, I think it is safe to say that for each and every individual person there is a "normal." Within in that lies the right to say: "I'm normal and you are not." How about that? Oh, and what's so bad about mashed potatoes in your hair?
Hugs,
DianneAnswer 1, about if I've been able to hide the article...I told my wife about it...but said it's too late to read and get her approval, and it's already been run. :) - and I added, no sense for you to even read it now...so NO ONE in the family has seen it yet...and 2. the mashed potatoes in the baby's hair...what made it worse is that it happened repeatedly, and each time the Mother's reaction was the same...she did nothing....lastly, I agree with your interp about the whole concept of norm and normal...on facebook, a reader said, "normal is only a setting on a clothes dryer, nothing more." so true.... good to hear from you...thanks for reading and commenting....take care, Dave
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.