The older we get the more Jan and I seem to swear. The majority of our swearing is just when the two of us are alone. We swear for a lot of reasons, from accidentally dropping an item, to emphasizing a point we are making, at bad drivers on the road, or from getting hurt.
When our kids were growing up we seldom swore, especially around them. I might have let a few choice words fly out when doing repairs around the house, but otherwise kept myself in check. Jan just didn't swear at all.
It's only been the last couple of years that "bad" four letter words have been used more frequently by Jan and myself. This is kind of strange, too, since when we hear certain words that used to be considered bad on television we are still shocked and glad our kids aren't little anymore and listening to this stuff.
A couple of years ago a "new to us" runner joined the Sal's group on our long runs. We soon called him Potty Mouth Mike, because he had an uncontrollable need to swear and to differentiate him from the other Mikes who are in the Sal's group. Potty Mouth Mike only ran with us for a year or so before injuries and work requirements took their toll. But his legend lives on.
Last Saturday I was running on the canal path with the Sal's group. It wasn't until I got home that I realized when I was talking while we were running that I let a few F-bombs fly. I also slipped on some mud and lost my balance when another F-bomb flew out automatically. It was a reflex response to thinking I was going to fall. Falling is bad. I can't fall anymore and not get hurt. It seems a justifiable reason to swear.
Now I wonder if I am going to be the new Potty Mouth Mike. No one seemed shocked by my swearing, which means they don't care or are so used to me speaking like an uneducated/uncivilized teenager that they've become oblivious.
The good news is that a new study says that "Swearing aloud can make you stronger". Participants in the study were put on exercise bikes and then given aerobic power tests while swearing or not swearing. "The results showed that the participants produced more power if they had
sworn in the first experiment and a stronger handgrip if they had sworn
in the second." The athletes could withstand pain better or for a longer period if they were swearing.
It may be a good thing for me to keep letting a few F-bombs drop on the run. Wait until racing season starts and every other breath is FU. I may end up being banned from racing, but at least I'll have some fast times to show for it!
4 comments:
I can see how that study would be true. When I rode a horse that was bucking, bolting, or however it happened to misbehave, words would eventually start flying out of my mouth that I never knew I knew (I certainly didn't hear them at home haha). Whenever this happened, I sat up and really started riding, rather than the curled in a ball victim seat that finishes with you in the dirt. So I say when things go crazy, swear on! :)
Agree, I became unhinged once while completing a "snow march" during Mountaineering training in the Army. I was not a good skier and the march was 15k UPHILL! with army skies. It was the most insane I ever remember myself becoming. And I let the bad words fly! Luckily, bad words in the army are standard operating procedure. And at the end of it, the instructors were happy to see that I "did what it took" to finish the test within the allotted time.
Civilian life is slightly different, but there are still places where cussing is ( moderately) acceptable.
best f-ing post you have written. Lou
If any of my tax money was used for that ridiculous study I am going to be #%&* mad.
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