Growing Up in Flip Flops

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Thankfully, my most embarrassing moment occurred for me during high school.  Not many people saw the moment or were even aware of its occurrence at the time. Those factors didn't take away from the embarrassment for me at the time.  It still left a mark, so to speak, all these years later.

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Sometimes we should keep our thoughts private.  Sometimes we say things we shouldn't have. Sometimes we learn the consequences of saying something.  I learn all of these lessons in one very quick moment.

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If there is no penalty to answering a question on a test or in the classroom, say or write  something, anything.  You might surprise yourself and be correct.    There's something there about rather being lucky than good.

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In this episode, I recount four instances of encounters with wildlife in south Florida, which shaped my attitude.  Thankfully, I learned from those encounters and applied a more general approach to my outlook. 

No one ever died from being too cautious.  That comment may be cynical or overwrought, but it has gotten me this far.

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The long past time of local children's television programming is remembered with my two appearances as part of a live audience at such shows.  One recounts my first, and unknown, celebrity encounter.  It also highlights that even the mighty had to start somewhere.  And my second opportunity results in me being entirely lost while searching for what I thought was, at least at that time, was the best thing I could have.

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I learn a couple lessons that have stuck with me since my youth because of relatively harmless interactions involving high school dance dates.  One I learned on my own because of my date's reaction to an earlier prank I pulled on her and the second because of my mother's indignation at what she saw was about to happen.  I'm grateful for both of these reactions to my behavior, as I learned  that my selfish actions could have escalated to situations with less happy resolutions.

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In this episode, I reflect on seemingly disparate  events in my young life, which connected to one another and led me to unexpected places.  These eventual unexpected destinations provided me with the opportunity to develop life long skills and interests.  

The other result of all these experiences is a wanderlust to see what's around that next corner or what is the view from the top of that hill.  I hope I never lose that.

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An experience during a dental examination leads to a fear and my distrust of members of the medical profession from a young age, but dentists in particular.  The experience also gave me a life lesson to believe people when they tell you what they are experiencing. If it doesn't match what you believe, you need to start asking questions in order to understand what is happening.  And not simply bull ahead based on your perception of the situation.

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An attempt to escape my  usual Saturday morning of drudgery and housework leads to both an unexpected (and unwarranted) compliment and a surprising and happy ending for my mother.  A little lesson to everyone; be sure to make certain you are speaking to the person you assumed you are speaking.

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A case of the mumps is absolutely no reason for me to miss a week of school.  And the cure in this case is not worse than the disease.  In fact, it was treat, at least for me.  Your mileage may vary.