[obol] Re: Grouchy
- From: Joel Geier <joel.geier@xxxxxxxx>
- To: Oregon Birders OnLine <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 19:41:47 -0700
Hi all,
Yeah, some of us old-timers are cranky old farts. Some of it might come
from dealing with lower back pain, hemorrhoids, and other things that
some of you young farts don't necessarily want to hear about in full
detail (you have my e-mail address, if you want to hear more).
But when I read the message that our esteemed moderator Dave Lauten
forwarded today, my first thought was that maybe some of the young farts
on the list don't realize when some of us old farts are actually having
fun.
A lot of written communication in recent years has gotten to be more
direct and less nuanced than most of us old farts were raised with.
Irony, facetiousness, and allusion tend to be frowned upon nowadays, and
perhaps just come across as "grouchy" for folks who come from the
pre-emoji generation.
Maybe it would help to see some photos of us in action, so you won't
take us quite so seriously.
Here is a great photo of Lars Norgren, from about the same time that he
showed up in my yard a month or two ago:
http://www.gazettetimes.com/finley-at-fifty-jpg/image_115270f2-d218-11e3-8d3f-0019bb2963f4.html
Lars is a guy with whom I've disagreed frequently on OBOL, However, I
daresay that he is also one of the most interesting characters, with
extremely wide-ranging interests and knowledge, basically covering the
whole scope of human civilization. His dad who still lives in Corvallis
is also a very interesting guy to talk to, so I know where Lars gets
this from. I have learned a lot from Lars over recent years since he
popped up on OBOL. A lot of it might not translate directly into
birding year lists, but I think it's great that we have someone who
knows enough anthropology to inform us about burnt Wild Turkey bones and
pinyon pine charcoal in prehistoric caves in the Silver Lake basin.
Here's a view of me that all of you can laugh at if you want:
http://traveloregon.com/trip-ideas/grants-getaways/trek-into-new-territory/
(I haven't actually viewed this myself, but I know that I always have to
laugh when I see myself in these things).
Bottom line message, don't take any of us old-timers too seriously. And
consider the possibility that, even when we sound a bit cranky, we might
be having fun.
Happy birding,
Joel
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