Most everyone knows how and when to shut-up. Unfortunately, that isn't something I'd learned yet. Already you are thinking, "Oh, my gosh, here he goes on a tangental monologue" but you have the kindness to not say that. Or maybe it's the wisdom. Bless you for either.

Lot of things in this world are negative. They get us down or get to us. With me, it's impatience. The worst part of it is that I usually am so very blind to the double-standard I hold. This is actully on the point of the subject. At what point do you feel someone going on and on is a lecture and not mindless chatter? When a parent talks to a child, it used to be a lecture. Growing up, heard all the time about my friends getting lectured. With the youth of today, it seems pretty divided on which it is that they heard when their parents addressed them on troublesome subjects.

The scariest thing that had ever happened to me was when my son went missing. It was late afternoon, on a weekend, I go inside my apartment and do something online. A few minutes later, my son is nowhere to be found. He was in the courtyard and simply isn't in view. So I visited the apartment across the way, where they had the door open and one of their children were playing with him. This is where you are starting to lose interest because it seems like mindless chatter. Maybe it is, but it's important in more than one light, so I continue.

Running around all over the apartment complex, yelling out his name, hearing an ambulance siren on the busy street out in front of the place, I run to make sure he wasn't hit by a bus. This was a scary dream of mine from one night that stuck with me. With all that is right and/or holy, he wasn't laying broken in the middle of the street. As a parent, you don't want to call the police and affirm you are a failure in keeping up with that truly important thing your life, your offspring. So calling them, I admit huge incompetance and fearing they'll see it as parental neglect. If this is funny, that's fine... but likely you are thinking this inconsequential dribbling is going to put you out of your mind if it doesn't get to the point soon.

Talking to them on the telephone, they'd asked for a description. Ah! Lucky me, I'd just videotaped him outside wearing my favourite Stetson cowboy hat. Giving a very good description the playback, I note the time it was recorded and look on the clock in being able to answer how long ago I'd seen him - less than 15 minutes. That's how long it takes for your world to go from peaceably calm and serene to going out-of-your-head crazy in fear. No sooner than when going through the list of affirming that anyone or everyone that might have seen him or might have him with them legitimately... he walks in the door! In shamefully great embarrassment; I inform them, thank them and hang up. Now you are either rubbing your palms together thinking the child is in for it and it will all be worth the read. And at first, I could have picked him up and shook him for scaring me like that. Mindless wasn't the suitable word, but had came to my senses quite rapidly. How to prevent it again?!

I talked to him outside while sitting on a window sill. I explained to him with real sincerety how scary, dreadful and unimagineable horrible it was to have him disappear. Instead of spanking or lecturing him, it was pointed out that it made me very physically sick inside, that it was feared he was abducted or laying hurt somewhere on the street. He got the point and didn't disappear on me like that again.

So you'd hung around for this part. Good. I can drive a wedge between the people I know by two things, a lengthy mindless chatter or a condescending lecture. People have nothing vested, they walk. Smart folks, no one has to hang around and listen to either. Yet those around me that can't escape me... they deal with it. Just like I'm learning to deal with others. When people do things I dislike, there is this automatic control that says "address this issue". SO it comes out as one or the either.

Now, the reason for this thread is that someone yelled at me. Not in person like voicing in a loud volume. It was done by them using large point and all caps online. In Net-ettiquette, that's yelling. There are two ways in which that is dealt with - either dismissing it or getting irritated. It probably almost never works the way it's intended by those doing it. There is a small touch of pride in that if it works out to be true. Now a certain smart-a.. smart-alec friend is probably thinking of typing a 72-point message in reply. If so, he'll end up with more mindless chatter in messages. :) The person that actually instigated this didn't get it in PM reply or have it aired out in public view like dirty laundry. If they read this, they know who they are. If they don't.... well...
I guess they'll be listening to all the mindless chatter that would have otherwise ended upon here for the next few months. :) It's up to you to be hoping it works out that way.