THIS ARTICLE NEEDS TO BE be fully introduced before I actually write the full content. The reason this article needs an introduction is that I (except for some editing tonight) is that I wrote it on an electric typewriter (these typewriters replaced the manual ones that had the messy two spools to them) back on January 7th, 1973 when I was a 17-year-old skinny long-haired kid (my hair was so long it went past my shoulders) in my last year of high school. Around that time I wrote a play entitled Hemingway Meets Fitzgerald which was recently published on bizcatalyst360.com. As the article unfolds you will see mention of things that were relevant to that time. Going through papers and alike the other night I came across this paper and wanted to share it with you. I hope you enjoy reading it.
Did you ever have one of those days when you were so frustrated inside that you don’t know how to relieve your frustrations? I’ll let you in on a little secret I have a lot of those days. When I get these frustrations I will try almost anything to get rid of them. So for all of you out there who don’t know what to do to rid yourselves of the things that are bugging you I dedicate this article to you. After all if you can’t take your frustrations out one somebody or something then what good are they?
One of the most basic causes of frustration is the inability on our part to do something we want to do but don’t know how to do. Here in 2015 we get frustrated when we can’t log on to Facebook, Skype or our iPhone or Android devices freeze up or the internet goes down. Back in 1973 one of the biggest frustrations was to try to follow directions that made no sense. Did you ever try to build an electric robot from your Erector Set from the directions they gave you? Impossible!
When these things happen (or happened) my best advice would be to retreat to a quiet place (do any of these type of places exist anymore?) and scream out all the four lettered words you can think or alternatively you can take some object you really hate and either kick it, mutilate it, smash it or for that matter do anything you like to it as long as it makes you feel better! Who says all violence is bad?
Have you ever missed your train because you were late in getting to the station? Next thing you know you are late for work and your boss is all over you back like a wet sponge. That is frustrating. What you could have done to temporarily relieve your frustration driven anger (won’t help your anxiety) is beat the heck out of some inanimate object by repeatedly kicking it very hard. While you are at it you can add an extra kick for anything else that is bugging the crap out of you. Of course you might discover that after this exercise you have broken your toe and now have to go to the doctor and pay him to put a cast on it. Oh by the way self-inflicted injuries are not covered by insurance. Okay so it was a bad idea but what would you expect from a 17-year-old.
One of my pet peeves back then was after color television came out it seemed like there was nothing to watch except for shows about cops. It always amazed me that now how bad the crime was or how seemingly unsolvable the crime was by the time the episode ended everything had worked out in the end. Boy did I wish back then ( I guess even to this day I feel that way) that every problem can be worked out in one hour minus timeout for the commercials.
It always seemed all the good shows were on late at night longer after I had to be in bed. Yes, back then 17 year olds did have a set bedtime. My favorite music show “The Midnight Special” came on as the name suggests around midnight. There were some great acts that I missed. What frustrated even more was the fact that my missing my show was of no real importance my parents. I used to get so mad at the people who made up the “schedules” for these shows I literally wanted to punch them in the month. I am now too old nor possessing any desire to do things like that.
Ever had one of those days where nothing goes right? That can be pretty frustrating huh? Wait a minute, this article is about frustration. Oh nuts I am frustrating myself and it’s mainly because I can’t think of anything to do about these frustrations. Man this is frustrating! You could try to blow your pinky out of your ear with one hand holding your nose with your mouth closed. You may feel better just trying this but then again maybe not.
What about eating a pitted fruit? This can be very frustrating when there is no place to spit it out or wrap it up and throw it in an ashtray. If you take the pit out of your mouth in front of people they will think you are a disgusting pig. If you spit it out it might land on your lap. Probably the best solution to this problem is to take the pit out of your mouth with a hand tissue and throw it at the nearest clown who passes a remark you didn’t like. Not only will this end your frustration (it didn’t and doesn’t) but you will also have had some fun at their expense. Serves them right!
So now that I am coming to the end of this grand article (back then I thought it was grand) I want to ask you if have successfully helped you rid yourself of unneeded frustrations thanks to me. If not I have failed in my purpose and on top of that you have made me feel frustrated. And since I don’t like to feel frustrated this has made me frustrated. Well that just about wraps up this article or whatever this was or intended to be back in 1973.
Being 17 did have some fun moments. In case you are curious I did get a haircut before my graduation (at my parents insistence) but I did not go up on stage wearing nothing underneath my graduation gown and go streaking through the audience. Who remembers streaking?
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