Positive effects of pessimism

truth
Husker, reasonable request. What's your bank account number?

Sheesh, 'boida, that's rude.

Just give us your SSN, husker...

666-66-6666
SS# and Bank both the same.

Hello, I was minister of banks in [insert obscure African country here] and we recently had an uprising. We are looking for foreign busisnessman like you to store $5000000 dollars for us. Your fee will be 10% if you help us. Please forward us your banking information.

This is the "Bank of Hell" curiosity
It's over in mainland China - I actually have a few Hell notes. Rather large bills - 100,000,000 - must not worth anything
What the hell are Hell Notes?, you ask. I will tell you. I will tell you what the Hell Notes are.

There are several denominations of Hell Notes, from a one-dollar bill up to (at least) the one billion dollar note. The Chinese create this money to be used in the afterlife. The Chinese afterlife is pretty much the same as here, you work (that IS hell!), you have to spend money and provide for your family, etc. The hell money is transported from this world to the afterlife by burning it. The money is traditionally burned after a funeral, or during the Chinese new year. It doesn't stop at money - the place where I picked these bills up also had Hell shoes - shoes to burn, made out of cardboard, Hell fans, Hell VCRs, Hell toothpaste, etc. You will also see (scaled-down) Hell cars and houses.

The tradition itself is frowned upon by the Chinese government (you know, if I had a Hell Dollar for every time I saw that phrase...). In the interest of the environment, they suggest burning one blank check for the deceased. There are also Hell Credit Cards issued by at least one bank in Taiwan.

The reason they're called Hell notes is rather funny - it comes from Christian missionaries visiting China in the 19th century, happily explaining to the Chinese where they'd all end up. I love this attitude on part of the Chinese - "call it whatever you want, we're still going to keep our traditions and beliefs."

One of my atheist friends would pick me up little things like that when he was out seeing the world.

That wasn't Roberta back there, it was the JLNobody cat..., she said dolefully.

JLN, Ya gotta ask for bank account number, mother's maiden name, birthdate, and social security number - if you want to get anyplace.

There ARE guys you can hire for that sort of work, c.i., under the table....

Only if the wimmen are nikkid.

How LOW can you get?

lower....lower, no lower........

thanks
That's one of the things I like about C.I. By the way, Husker, you cheat. That 6666...number didn't work. I was SO embarrassed.

Well, it sure looked like Roberta, damn it.

Cat twins, she twinkled, tripping on the step....

My mother used to say to me (when I was happy):

"Don't laugh too much! You'll be crying soon!"

And that was only ONE of the negative/pessimistic things she said all through my childhood. So I figure, with that sort of influence on my susestable little brain, how can I be anything but a pessimist? Too this day I expect the shattering thunderbolt to disrupt the festivities & fun, dammit!

Oh, I forgot to say welcome to you, "Stand Up" ...
A pleasure to meet you!

Hi msolga,
It's a pleasure to meet you aswell!......and thanks for your post.

truth
StandUP. One of my favorite utterances is: "Want to make God laugh? Tell him your plans."

JLN, When I told him mine, he cried.

I'm an optimist. I'll fall back on sports to illustrate why (a favorite male ploy). I played basketball until I was 50. I was a really good scorer (patting myself on the back) and attribute it to optimism. I saw the basket in my mind's eye and expected to sink it when I shot. There were shots I made when even I was surprised. If you know the sport there aren't too many players who can put three hook shots in a row from half court. I did.
Simply explained in a scenario like this positive expectations garner superior performance. Professionally I've solved problems other people give up on. In meeting and greeting people I expect to be liked and it happens. As regards health I heal quickly and firmly believe it's the result of expecting just that.
Is it foolproof? No. But the ratio is high enough to regard it as a useful and valuable tool to living.