Getting Tougher

It's kind of interesting how, when looking out of the ordinary, we either feel acute embarrassment or develop a "what the heck" attitude.  When I went through the terrible scabbing of having radiation on my lip, it really bothered me to go out in public but now that I'm wearing this darned big bandage on my cheek I feel much differently about it.  About the only concession I give is that I don't like eating in public because I fear putting people off their meal.  Other than that I wander around and do my daily outings as needed with that wonderful "what the heck" attitude.

We were in a restaurant not long after John lost his leg and that's when I really noticed how some people respond to the out-of-ordinary.  Most people might show a slight surprise at first sighting but then quickly gain their composure and behave in a polite and tactful manner.  There was one old gal, though, who even stopped eating her dinner to stare for ages at John and his missing leg.  Very poor manners!  I don't think John cared because he is one strong individual but I wanted to go over to the b---h and tell her off.

When I was out with the lip scab, I kept my head down out of shame so didn't see any horrified glances.  Now that I'm stronger in mind (like John), I do notice how my bandage affects others and it's kind of interesting.  Adults either don't show any obvious interest or they remember their manners and ignore it.  Children do stare a bit but most have had manners instilled in them so they don't stare for long and look more curious than anything else.

We are a society of everyone wanting to blend in with the crowd...or stand out in a positive way if at all.  Anything out of the ordinary sort of throws us for the moment until we can sort it out in our heads as to what it means and to act accordingly.  From my point of view these days, with my 1/2" x 2" cheek bandage, is that we've done a good job teaching our children to have good manners.  Remember the one, "Don't stare!".