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#298074 - 01/14/21 09:35 PM Pessimists vs. Optimists
MartinFocazio Offline

Pooh-Bah

Registered: 01/21/03
Posts: 2203
Loc: Bucks County PA
Some of you may have noticed that I was basically absent from this forum for a few years, despite being a very active member and moderator in the past.

Most of the reason I was generally not around was that I had a job that got me fairly far up the corporate ladder and that absorbed so much of my time that I didn't have much time to chit-chat online.

Anyway, one of the things I did quite a bit for those years was travel the world for various reasons. I often went to Eastern Europe - Ukraine, Belarus, Slovakia, Romania, etc. and while there I made some good friends and had plenty of laughs and vodka.

One of the jokes I learned from a colleague while out to dinner with him in Minsk was as follows:

In Eastern European culture, a pessimist will say, "Things are so terrible, very bad, and could not possibly get any worse."

But in response, the Eastern European optimist will say, "Oh, don't worry so much, of course they could get worse!"

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#298078 - 01/14/21 10:31 PM Re: Pessimists vs. Optimists [Re: MartinFocazio]
chaosmagnet Offline
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3819
Loc: USA
My Eastern European ancestors are nodding sagely at this. Glad to have you back around.

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#298079 - 01/14/21 10:41 PM Re: Pessimists vs. Optimists [Re: MartinFocazio]
Jeanette_Isabelle Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 11/13/06
Posts: 2946
Loc: Nacogdoches, Texas
Originally Posted By: MartinFocazio
But in response, the Eastern European optimist will say, "Oh, don't worry so much, of course they could get worse!"

Welcome to 2021!

Jeanette Isabelle
_________________________
I'm not sure whose twisted idea it was to put hundreds of adolescents in underfunded schools run by people whose dreams were crushed years ago, but I admire the sadism. -- Wednesday Adams, Wednesday

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#298081 - 01/15/21 12:21 AM Re: Pessimists vs. Optimists [Re: MartinFocazio]
Blast Offline
INTERCEPTOR
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 07/15/02
Posts: 3760
Loc: TX
Howdy, Martin! Seems like all the old guard is showing up again. I wonder if that means anything.
-Blast
_________________________
Foraging Texas
Medicine Man Plant Co.
DrMerriwether on YouTube
Radio Call Sign: KI5BOG
*As an Amazon Influencer, I may earn a sales commission on Amazon links in my posts.

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#298082 - 01/15/21 03:06 AM Re: Pessimists vs. Optimists [Re: MartinFocazio]
dougwalkabout Offline
Crazy Canuck
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 3217
Loc: Alberta, Canada
Hey Martin, I'll bet you have stories to tell. Re optimists: that makes me chuckle; it's that essential black humour that keeps people going as they wend their way through a slightly insane world.

@ Blast - Yeah, it's quite pleasant to find a place in the lee of the twitter/social/media hurricane. Sort of like a krummholz in the subalpine -- you can brew up a cup of tea in peace and enjoy the view as the wind howls by.

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#298083 - 01/15/21 04:05 AM Re: Pessimists vs. Optimists [Re: MartinFocazio]
Phaedrus Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/28/10
Posts: 3148
Loc: Big Sky Country
Welcome back. We're gettin' the band back together! grin
_________________________
“I'd rather have questions that cannot be answered than answers that can't be questioned.” —Richard Feynman

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#298109 - 01/16/21 11:40 PM Re: Pessimists vs. Optimists [Re: MartinFocazio]
Doug_Ritter Offline

Pooh-Bah

Registered: 01/28/01
Posts: 2197
Welcome home!
_________________________
Doug Ritter
Editor
Equipped To Survive®
Chairman & Executive Director
Equipped To Survive Foundation
www.KnifeRights.org
www.DougRitter.com

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