Two strikes into a red flag moment – troubles with twitter

The problem with words is… like baseballs and rocks, they almost always travel further than you expect.

One of the saddest moments of my life was when I was 4 or 5 and while playing in the front yard… I picked up a suitably sized pebble and hurled it…

…bouncing it off my mother’s forehead.

And protest in pain she did. I felt like a bag of crap.
That was in the sixties.
Now in her 80’s she seems fine. Fingers crossed.

She’s okay. But what about me?

I seem to be still throwing rocks. Which means I have a bit of a bullying streak.
Don’t like it much.

While mucking with Twitter the last few days, I made 2 discoveries.
1.) When you want to bug someone about something (particularly on Twitter – or any other media for that matter) – you can do it quite effectively when you know you have their attention… and
2.) No matter who is out there, great and small… everyone can be tuned into your comments… even if you are directing them to William Shatner or someone else.

And no, I did not bully Bill.

What I did do was make some comments, in a very weak form of jest, against one of my favorite radio personalities. And he called me on it. Sent me a message.

And that rock on my mom’s head came back in crystal clear memory.

My dear wife, whom I love more than life itself, advised…
“For the love of Pete, leave celebrity name deleted alone… what’s wrong with you?” “And you are on twitter probation…”

Two strikes.

She has me scrubbing Jeffries tubes and checking plasma conduit.
The next infraction: Her finger is on the warp core jettison switch.

I am a bully. Working on a cure.
Keeping my hands away from rocks.