What was your first mature thought?

Oh, and my mother once tried to get me to hook up with this guy who I really didn't know all that well, but he was about my age and the son of a good friend of my parents who was in the same congregation.

Lord, have mercy, rufio, another gaffe. I was certain that you were male. duh. Yes, mothers should never play match maker. Smokinggunne and Frank asked about that very thing, and smokingunne was sorta put down as a result of it.

Florida Bill, ah, the green peas of summer...Yes, they do sorta glow in the dark..lol. What a terrible discovery to find that your sis, hissed....still laughin'. Tough lesson to learn that blood is not often thicker than water. Little brat, she was, but I'll bet today, it's love me, love my brother.

Hey, Cockney sperrer, it seemed that you learned early on, that people were people no matter their color, and that mature thought surpassed even your mother. <smile>

And now, my friends. The mature person in me says, "Go to bed Letty.It's way past your bedtime."

No offense taken.... I have that effect on most people.

(Smiling at the two 80's references here, the shampoo commercial and the John Cougar Mellencamp -- hadn't thought of that in a long time.)

The first one along these lines I can think of was when I was 11 or 12. My best friend and I were seriously into stuffed animals. She got me a really nice largish (~1 foot long) black and white dog for my birthday, that I just loved. She was thrilled that I liked it so much.

My family got a puppy shortly thereafter, and the puppy was sad and lonely at night. I gave the puppy the b&w dog to sleep with in his puppy bed, and that made the puppy happier. The b&w dog became his, and was licked, and chewed on, and loved.

My friend came over and saw the b&w dog all mangled and dirty and was furious at me. I truly didn't get it at first. Then, after a lot of thinking, I finally understood why it would make her angry, and I felt terrible. It marked a turning point in empathy, seeing things from the other person's perspective.

Soz, I understand that example, cause you expected your friend to understand that her gift went for a noble purpose, and when she didn't, you were able to see inside her sensitivity. I am trying to remember the first time that I realized another's anger and hurt were sometimes justified. I guess it was the time when I put my sister's favorite doll in a flower basket filled with water. When I saw the doll's melted feet, I think I ran and hid. Strangely, that doll came with a little dog on a leash.

my first mature thought?
The universe is a big place, perhaps the biggest i've even been to.

Hey, dys. I think that you and Stephen Crane might be thinking along the same lines. "A Man Said to the Universe"--read it sometime if you haven't already.

truth
Cockney, I'm happy for you, that you never developed the racism from which most of us must spend a life time recovering.

My first mature thought? Hmmm. Don't know. But I suspect my first mature act was apologizing for some injustice.

Strange to say, I have always thought essentially as I do now. My first mature thoughts are shrouded very early in childhood.

I liked the way you turned that from thinking into doing, JL.

edgar, that's interesting. I can remember stuff from when I was in a crib and I'm not kidding. With your knack for writing, I would say that mature thinking has to be a variable somewhere in your experiences.

I recall the final time I nursed, among other things.

Well, I declare, edgar. I bet 'ya don't smoke, either. I laughed at one of my friends who observed that when a child was big enough to ask for it, that was definitely the time to wean.

Sozlet was asking at about 6 months. ;-) (Signing.)

JLNobody =========== I've never subscribed to racism/bigotry, never felt the need. More importantly I've never heard an acceptable reason for being a bigot or a racist.
Living in an ever increasing multi cultural country, I feel that social harmony is a lot less streeful than hatred.

truth
Cockney, now I KNOW that I was right in being happy for you.

Hey, Soz. Do you mean that Sozlet was signing at nine months of age. Wow!

Morning all.

Yep! Not that much, but "milk" was one of her first signs.

When I was about ten I thought up the concept that there is always the same amount of matter/energy in the universe, and it is constantly being recycled in different forms. Also, I recognized the absurdity of religion around the same time.

I'm still waiting for my first mature thought...

I don't remember how young I was, but it was the age of Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry on TV. I was not to be seen without my holster and trusty cap gun.

I was wearing it one Sunday when the family gathered at my grandmother's house. My cousin Maureen was, as usual, being a total pain in the pants. At some point she took exception to something I'd done and turned to summon the parents.

What would Hoppy do? I'd seen it a dozen times and so I knew what had to be done. I took out my gun, held it by the barrel, and conked Maureen on the noggin with it.

Contrary to oater dogma, she did not quietly grunt and fall unconscious to the ground. She let out a wail that rattled every window in the neighborhood. So I sat down to await the inevitable and reflect on one of life's bitter lessons.