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Sunday 10 August 2014

WordPress Daily Prompt: Second Opinion

What are some (or one) of the things about which you usually don’t trust your own judgment, and need someone’s else’s confirmation?



Lawn rolls

I had no problem with this one. We had the lawn replaced on our back garden and had the choice of having one sown from seed, which would have taken two months if not devoured by the hungry birds and other small livestock in the area, or have a completed roll lawn costing twice as much. In the long run we chose the roll lawn which has now rooted and coming along nicely.

I remember when dad brought home two bottles of rum from work, being sold for a tenth of the normal price. Christmas was coming and you do not look a gift horse in the mouth. The television programme “Police 5” publicised the fact that exactly the same bottles of rum were stolen from a lorry and if you find these bottles please report it to the police. Mum and dad decided they did not want to be arrested for receiving stolen goods, so the bottles were emptied into an empty bottle with no marks, and the empty rum bottles were thrown away after being thoroughly washed and labels removed.

I mostly had to rely on my own opinion. From mum I had absolutely no inspiration. Clothes: if they were cheap from a stall in the market, then buy them, they are a bargain. I worked in the City of London and after lunch I would often take a walk to the shops which I mostly bought my clothes. When I left England at the age of 20 for Switzerland I was on my own. There was no Mr. Swiss. I was unprotected game and left to my own inventions. I had to depend on I, me and myself and all in an almost foreign language. I had a couple of years German from school, but they all spoke the Swiss German. Somehow I managed to survive, mainly by trial and error.

I had my own room in Zürich in an apartment house that belonged to my boss, so I did not have to furnish it or buy curtains, they were all there. The only decisions I had to make at that time was on my evening out. Shall I take a glass of wine, a beer, or stick to Coke. Now that bloke is asking me for a dance, shall I say yes or no. I look around and my friends were confronted with the same problems, so who should I ask.

Two years later I had moved to a little village near the town of Solothurn, working for the Robert Bosch concern in the office. I now had my own place and had to furnish it. I had no idea, but it was only one room. Not going into too much detail, but I started the job on 1st April (April Fool’s day?) where I set my eyes for the first time on Mr. Swiss and this was mutual. By December we were dating and in February we married. I did not have to ask anyone, mum and dad were in another country and I was always one for a quick decision.

Things were going so fast that we did not have time to discuss and think about it. I soon had a family. I had to trust my own judgement and the only confirmation I had was from Mr. Swiss, although he had his own decisions to make. One thing I am never certain about today is furniture and decorations, but there I have Mr. Swiss. I always ask his opinion before I buy something for the home and I treasure his taste in this connection. He likes quality, something I never knew in my family.

Today I am still standing on my own two feet, and borrow the feet of Mr. Swiss to confirm what I want to do. He might have a different opinion, but basically I do what I decided. It always helps to have another opinion.

At a golden oldie age, the clothing style is important, but not as important as it was in the younger years. Today the problem is does it fit, but as Mr. Swiss is sharing this problem with me, we do not really discuss our ideas. We have a little disagreement with haircuts, I prefer it short (and sweet?) and he finds that it makes too much golden oldie mainly because most of the ladies at my age walk around with short grey hair. At the moment I am somewhere in between, but only because I could not be bothered to go to the hairdresser.

If I have a golden oldie complaint, I worry about it, especially if it hurts. First of all I think about it, tell Mr. Swiss where I discover he has something similar and then I eventually call the doc. I am not a doctor and you never know what is going on inside the body. My lumbago complaint was an easy job: both Mr. Swiss and I knew what it was, nothing new, but my most recent problem was mysterious. We guessed on sciatica, although according to Dr. Mr. Swiss that is at the back of the leg, and mine was definitely at the front. Now and again a twinge in the thigh muscle and it would progress to the knee. I eventually took the plunge. I had to refill on a few medicines from the doc, and Mr. Swiss also had a couple to fill up with, so we combined our visit with my examination. I was three minutes in the doctor’s surgery and she was applying an injection in a very tender part. It is clearly a problem with the hip joint she found. I am now awaiting an appointment at the hospital for an x-ray of both hip joints. In the meanwhile I have two other sorts of tablets to take. Never trust your own opinion with medicine. I am not the type that would now visit another doctor for a second opinion. First of all I am not sure if the medical insurance would cover a second opinion and whether the second opinion would be better than the first opinion. It is all very complicated.

I very rarely never show my blogs to Mr. Swiss before putting them into print. He reads them in any case when he feels like it and even if he would not agree I would publish it all the same. 


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