Say you've got a bad habit. Nail biting, hair chewing, something like that.
Mine is tugging on my ear lobes. I've done it since I discovered I had them.
I hear people's remarks once in a while, "Leave your ears alone, blah blah blah blah." But if I'm not wearing earrings, I am tugging on my ear lobes. At the end of the day, my ears are sore and red. I suppose if I don't stop I'll be a 90 year old woman with ear lobes that reach my shoulders, or something like that.
I've gotten hooked on A & E's show, "Intervention." I tevo it and watch it with my son. He's a smart cookie, he knows the dangers of alcohol and drugs; but I still like to sit him down and reinforce what substance abuse can do to a perfectly good person.
Most of the time, the person who is the focus of the intervention knows they have a problem and they freely admit it. But once in a while a person will sit in a room full of his family and friends and flat out deny there's a problem. They will be drunk off their ass and barely able to sit up, all the while saying, "Hey, I only have like one or two drinks a day, I don't have a problem." They seriously have a look of confusion as their family members, one by one, cry and tell them how awful their substance abuse is.
I watched an episode recently of a man my age who opened and operated his own chain of tanning salons in Las Vegas. He ran the administrative part of the business out of his house, which enabled him to drink straight vodka all day. His employees brought him food and took care of all the things that he couldn't.
He had all the symptoms of liver failure. Bruising on his torso and of course he was a shaky mess. He'd managed to get this messed up in about an eight year time period.
The intervention finally took place, and this guy honestly looked as though his family was TOTALLY overreacting and his one or two drinks per day were definitely not a problem. The look on his face was, "Huh?"
All I could think of was my ear lobes. I'd probably have the same look on my face, should my family decide to sit me down and say that I needed help for my problem.
"Huh?"
"We think you have a problem and you need to get help."
"I don't have a problem. I only touch my earlobes when I don't have earrings in. You guys are overreacting."
I can understand this guy's love affair with vodka, though. Each holiday season we find ourselves out socializing a little more than usual, and the fancy martinis are everywhere. Each holiday season I have to make a conscious effort to STOP drinking the vodka.
Well, this guy wasn't so lucky. He refused to concentrate on his treatment and he relapsed shortly thereafter. He died in his home a couple of months later.
I am certain I am not going to die from ear lobe touching. If my family decides to confront me, they're looking for trouble.
