You know, Junior, last night, after the Noahian torrents had ceased pounding the Sandhills of Nebraska, the beforementioned friend from long-ago childhood, the former police artist, and I went to the big city south of where we'd grown up, to see a long-ago college classmate of his.
This guy's a psychologist, and apparently one with credentials enough that he can prescribe drugs.
We went to an Italianate restaurant, where they had all this Sicilian glop while I had my usual, a hamburger extremely well-done, pressed down hard on the grill so as to squeeze out every drop of grease, and french fries cooked on the grill and not in the fryer, plus a side-order of a bowl of sour cream.
During the leisurely supper, after we were all
au courant with other matters, we discussed the psychology of primitives. The psychologist was not aware of the phenomenon, but trust me, he is now.
He disagreed with my speculation that background forms character, pointing out the examples of Atman and franksolich. "Although one from the Sandhills of Nebraska and the other from the trash-strewn congested beaches of Florida, both have remarkably similar backgrounds; in fact, Atman and franksolich might as well've been twins.
"Similar socio-economic backgrounds, grew up about the same years, despised higher education, and one, a caricaturist in pictures while the other, a caricaturist in words.
"And vain--my God, both you guys raise vanity up to a new higher level.
"Two people very much alike; but how come he's a loser, and you're not?"
I had to agree he had me there.
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We also discussed the matter of how bodily deformities affect personal self-image.
On that, he pretty much agreed with me, going as far as to say sometimes people form a deficient self-image of themselves because of only a
perceived deformity, or a deformity which only they themselves are aware.
He guesses that you're into body-building (this does not apply to everyone into body-building) because it helps you counter your feelings of inferiority and inadequacy. But no matter how good you get at it, no matter how excellent the body you ultimately form, you're never going to get rid of those feelings of inferiority and inadequacy until you deal with the
root cause of it.
Which of course is that while you have perfectly good ears, they never sprouted out of the sides of your head, remaining embedded, almost invisible, there. It makes you look odd, and you can't help but notice it, as it also causes other people to stare, point, sniggle, and ridicule you behind your back.
Like franksolich, he supposes if you had a cosmetic surgeon deal with this, you'd lose any need to spend any more time, money, and hopes on body-building.
