• trbauthor
      • hello Nadel Williamson
      • Username: trbauthor
      • In response to: "Who are you?" I am a journalist who writes a column for print and online newspapers in the U.S. and overseas. I am a former member of the U.S. Army. I am in the process of the publication of two books as eBooks.
  • trbauthor's latest answers
    • Dumb Question Most of the Time.

      • we are acting like doggies

        I act pretty much the same most of the time. I think it does have something to do with age - just getting enough years behind you to have developed a character and personality that behaves in certain predictable ways, at least in the eyes of those who know me. That's what I would say. But I could be wrong. And when I write "getting enough years behind you," I believe really that 17 or 18 is "enough years," in many cases. It is difficult to know what this "act your age" thing means half the time. In a literal sense we have infants, toddlers, kids, young adults, middle-aged folks and old timers. Can we really assign a certain age-specific behavior to all of them? We can to the infant, the toddler and the child, as far as their feeding, crying, sleeping and other characteristics are concerned. Most of those behaviors in people of those age groups are age-driven. As we get older though, it is nearly impossible to continue with this formula. The question "Do you act your age?" seems applicable mainly to the man in his 40s or 50s who runs off with a young woman and purchases a sports car. In other instances it could be considered prejudiced to use "acting your age" as a measure for behavior. The real questions: Are you a good person? Are you honest? Do you try to do right by people? Are you serious about your responsibilities to those you love? If the answer is yes to these questions, then it really doesn't matter if some stick in the mud believes you are not "acting your age." The other way to look at this question of "acting" a certain age or not is with a bit of logic. What the hell does acting your age mean? Obviously, it refers to whether you are behaving in a way that is considerate and responsible. Okay then, are you implying that younger people are not as capable of being considerate and responsible when you say that someome is not "acting their age?" You must be doing that. You are saying that older people behave more appropriately than younger people - as a rule. That is just not true. So, in a large sense, all things considered, the question of acting your age or not would seem to be a dumb question most of the time.

      • answered by trbauthor on 01/16/2012
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    • Different Year - Same Resolution

      • Stop Talking Long Enough To Listen


        Conversation

        I believe this year I will again try to listen more to what others are saying about their lives, their families, their worries, etc..
        I say "again" because I have made this same resolution in the past, but like someone with a bad habit, it seems that often I just can't follow through and - in this case - turn my own mouth off long enough to master the fine art of listening.
        There are two reasons (more than two, really, but let's not raise any psychological issues), to shut up long enough to hear what others are saying.
        First, you might learn something about other people who are important in your life - things such as what motivates them to act as they do, what are their strenghts and weaknesses, and (especially if they are loved-ones), how things are going in their lives.
        Are they happy, unhappy, in love, in need of help? Are they strong of character or not? And if not, why? When you love people, you want to know these things. You should know most, if not all of these things about anyone with whom you are in a relationship.
        Secondly, if you are a writer, or wish to become a writer, you have to learn to listen. You have to know, almost by heart, various patterns of speech that mark a person and help to define character. You can not fake these things. Anyone who reads on a regular basis can tell you when dialouge just doesn't ring true. You have to learn how people speak in the real world. You have to listen to them.
        Since I have always earned a decent or good living as a writer, I figure I must be a pretty good listener. But I could always be better. All of us could be better. So, it is my resolution for the new year to stop talking and start listening. Again.

      • answered by trbauthor on 12/19/2011
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    • Lazy Days

      • Alaska Vacation 6/07

        I don't like "lounge time," It makes me feel guilty and a bit paranoid that the world might be passing me by. I will see someone's byline on some irrelevant story and I will think, 'That's how every story would be if every writer took the day off.'
        Yes, it is very stupid, this guilt. The paranoia is a deep-seated insecurity thing, whereby I convince myself that if I am not in print everyone is going to say, 'See, he's not in print, and everything is actually better.'
        I really need a day - maybe some weeks or months - off.

      • answered by trbauthor on 11/19/2011
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    • The World's Most Over-Used Word

      • Fuck is the big one, so I will concentrate on that. First, forget about its slang sexual definition and let's look at the phonetics. Fuck, muck, suck, duck, puck, buck - we have that ugly "uck" that abruptly shuts the word off. That "uck" is so crucial to fuck's success as a word that shocks. Otherwise it is a pretty lame word. I have heard reasonably educated people use it as an adjective a noun a verb and an adverb during the course of a single conversation. I suppose for some it is their "go to" word, the one that affords them some street cred with the right crowd.
        I stopped using it a few years back when it became the world's most overused word. I haven't suffered for it. By that I mean I can still talk.

      • answered by trbauthor on 10/01/2011
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