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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

People Tell Me I Am Eccentric

"You are so eccentric!"
This always puzzles me. Me? Eccentric? How so? Help me here. Usually, I just laugh it off. Sometimes, I ponder aloud a few moments, trying to determine what caused the statement. I am usually no closer to finding meaning than I am of finding gold nuggets in my chickens' poop. Really, I have never looked there, so how do I know what I will find?

Eccentric meaning
I "swagged" eccentric and found this group of meanings.  I especially don't like the #1 "See Synonyms at strange." I am not so sure I want to be strange. At least I don't wince too much when I am pronounced "eccentric." Usually, I am just amazed.

Of course, #2 under verb and #3a or #3b or #2 under n have nothing to do with people.
v
1. Departing from a recognized, conventional, or established norm or pattern. See Synonyms at strange.

2. Deviating from a circular form or path, as in an elliptical orbit.
3.
a. Not situated at or in the geometric center.
b. Having the axis located elsewhere than at the geometric center.
n.
1. One that deviates markedly from an established norm, especially a person of odd or unconventional behavior.
2. Physics A disk or wheel having its axis of revolution displaced from its center so that it is capable of imparting reciprocating motion.

Me?
1. One that deviates markedly from an established norm, especially a person of odd or unconventional behavior.

No one told me I must behave in a conventional manner all the time. Whose norm? The norm that says to buy tp? The norm that says to buy all my clothing.

Not odd
And, I am sure I am not odd. My clothes match. I wear shoes when not at home. I speak English perfectly, I am told. But, that is not true, just closer than most. So, I am certain I am not odd in appearance or speech. I don't talk to myself. I bathe everyday.

Conventional manner
may be the sticking point here. No, I don't wear a bra unless on the job. I keep chickens. Many of my jobs aka making money are at home and creations of my own. Many of my ideas are not shared by people in this area, county, or town.

I am a feminist (yet committed heterosexual). I color my hair when other feminists say, "Let it go gray." At one point I made all my clothing, including bras and panties. I love to wear sandals in winter. (As I get older, my feet get colder, so this is not the point as it was in earlier years.) Aha, I don't read romance novels! That gets me strange looks. I don't watch soaps! I am sounding more eccentric all the time.

So, I am a tree-hugger, but not a dirty hippie. Oh, no, back in the 60s my politics were not revealed in hair or clothing.  As a tree-hugger I don't like destroying trees or any part of nature. (Okay, kill a bear and eat it. Just don't kill it for the trophy head.) Yes, I don't ever buy paper products for my home--yes, I use cloth and wash it instead of tp.

Oh, I finished college--bad thing...or jealousy. Some women in this small town smiled maliciously as they asked me "what on earth are you going to do with all those degrees?" THAT makes me eccentric here with many people.

Do I sound eccentric yet? Conventional manner in whose eyes? In the small town I live in, some traits are eccentric. Those same traits are acceptable in a large university town, but other traits are what gain me the eccentric label. I live between two worlds with different conventions.

Goodness gracious! I hang clothes on the line. I sleep in my swing some afternoons when I cannot stay awake out in the yard...lol. I have been known to take a walk at 2 am. I also do my walking for exercise in sandals.

I forgot: I eat food from dumpsters. I forage on public property. I glean when allowed. That all screams: eccentric!

Some days, I muse aloud to others about wanting to raise enough chickens for my own meat. Okay, I must be eccentric. I rhapsodize about eggs from hens who have never had a vaccine or antibiotic, never eaten chicken feed, never been totally cooped up. You know, I must be eccentric to eschew vaccinations and antibiotics for my hens!

Yes, I do talk to my hens and plants. I . AM . DOOMED. But, in all fairness, the hens usually start the conversation. Plants never start conversations and never respond verbally. But, they are listening.

Okay, eccentric can be good. Right?

 Your turn
How eccentric am I? LOL Has anyone ever pronounced you were eccentric? What did you do to elicit this response from someone?

4 comments:

  1. Not eccentric. But stupid, strange and idiot have been used to discribe me. I think they are all jealous of my not having to go out and work to support heaps of bad habits like they do.

    Cloth TP. There aren't many of us that do that but probably it's not something that you (me/they) broadcast.

    People don't understand why I don't use paper plates. I have had nasty things said to be when I ask why they do...

    Labels are for jars and bottles. People like us don't need them.

    Barb. ( I can relate to the no bra wearing. Get it on but probably wont be able to get it off later on)

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  2. I confide the tp thing to friends who shake their heads.That is when I get 'deer caught in the headlights' looks. Sometimes strangers who are talking saving the earth or saving money are just a little horrified. I am sure all the other things are said about me behind my back...lol. I love the label comment. Are we sisters,separated by an ocean or two or three and on different continents? Yeah, the paper plate thing brings out the worst in people who buy them. Thanks for the comment!

    ReplyDelete
  3. OH I've been called eccentric and a lot lot worse!!! LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Furtheron,
      I just now saw this comment 18 months later. Yes, I have been called the bad things, too. None are true!

      Delete

Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.