what is this?

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
Didn't know that #12 was a cyborg.
This is probably the only serious answer you will get from me:

The worst part happens when a child finds out.

I make every effort to look normal. Most of the time, it works. Case in point: One person who worked as part of my crew on a day-to-day basis. The jobs we did included installing central air conditioners (including the ducts, grilles, and electrical), We did rough carpentry and finish carpentry, including drywall and painting. I'm the guy who brought the five horsepower, cast iron table saw, and I'm the guy who loaded it and unloaded it at the job sites. We cut down trees, repaired plumbing, replaced a car engine, built two back yard sheds, and installed several ceiling fans. We worked like this for seven years before somebody told him.

If I can fake it that well, imagine what went through the mind of a child when he found an extra leg next to where I was sleeping.

I am extremely careful about answering children because they seem to have psychological difficulties with the idea that am, in a small way, a sort of cyborg. Explaining this to a child is one of the most difficult jobs I have ever done.
 

spinnaker

Joined Oct 29, 2009
7,830
#12 will appreciate this one.

I used to work for a small company that manufactured energy management systems. I had a co-worker named Marty. You need to know Marty to really appreciate this story but....

Our office was in an old building. My dad actually bought his first car there many years previous. It was a 2 story building. We had an old elevator that would take you from the second floor, past the lobby and up to the second floor. The door had to be manually operated. The car had a bad habit of stopping above the level of the elevator floor.

Marty had just started working there. One day he was in the basement headed for the 2nd floor. A man pressed the elevator button on the lobby floor and as it frequently occurred the car stopped part way past the lobby floor. Marty slides open the door and yells "Jump up! Jump up!" to the man standing there.

There were two problems with that suggestion:

1. The man was the owner of the company.

2. He had an artificial leg.

Fortunately for Marty, the owner was a very cool Indian guy with a great sense of humor. He thought Marty's request was hilarious.
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
One day (in 1989) I was participating in a seminar which included acting. The instructor told me to jump up from the floor to a rather safe and solid chair. I did it.

Nobody figured out I only had one of my original legs.:cool:
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
It's OK. I don't feel ridiculed or belittled at all. I only see some mild curiosity and some cautious jokes being careful just in case I'm sensitive about my physical condition, but it's being addressed in a healthy and constructive way.
 
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