The View from a Drawbridge

Tag: shock

  • Culture Shock

    Culture shock has an unwarranted bad reputation.

  • Wildly Inappropriate

    Why? Just… why?

  • Sweet Relief

    I felt as though 500 pounds had been lifted off my shoulders.

  • Try Not to Let Go

    I was sitting cross-legged on my friend’s bed. Cozy. With popcorn and gossip and a mountain view. We hadn’t done this since college. I’d missed it. “How did she die?” I asked. “I never knew for sure.” My friend paused for a long time. Then she said, “Everybody had the flu that winter. I mean,…

  • Sand Dunes in Oregon

    Fortunately, I’ve had very few “almost drove off the road” moments in my life. One time I was cruising along in Florida and a really big (as in, larger than the palm of my hand) hairy spider ran across my windshield. On the inside. In my efforts to kill it before it killed me, I…

  • Touch

    One of the many ways we explore the world is with our hands. Before buying an item of clothing, it’s not unusual to touch it first to see how it will feel against one’s skin. On the darkest of nights we extend our hands in front of us in order to avoid bumping into things.…

  • Why Are We Shocked?

    As more and more women come forward with rape allegations, it’s becoming increasingly impossible to maintain any warm and fuzzy feelings for Bill Cosby, America’s favorite dad. There’s nothing worse than having an icon fall from grace, but there you have it. It happens all the time. Not only are none of us perfect, but…

  • Major Scandal… Once Upon a Time

    Several decades ago, before I was a bridgetender and was still an office drone, there was a major scandal at my place of work. It seems that the director of personnel was found in the supply closet with a secretary from another department. And both were married. Gasp! Aside from the fact that the head…

  • Are you @#%&!^+ KIDDING me???

    I was just watching the movie Pretty Woman, and in it, Richard Gere as Edward Lewis says, “It’s just that, uh, very few people surprise me.” Julia Roberts as Vivian Ward replies, “Yeah, well, you’re lucky. Most of ‘em shock the hell outta me.” I’m with Vivian. It seems that I walk around in this…

  • Bad Words

    I used to work with someone who would get horrified if we used the word “toilet” in the log book. As in, “The toilet overflowed and needs to be repaired.” She said that the only acceptable word to use is “commode.” Oh my. Such fragile sensibilities must get bruised quite a bit in a world…