The Origins of Peculiarity

I've always been a little "off".

Those who know me best will attest to this fact, and for those who do not, well....strap yourself in, the funhouse ride is about to start!

Is weirdness learned behavior? Is it by nature or nurture, or a combination of both?

Whatever the answer, I am in possession of more than my fair share of idiosyncratic behavior, some of which dates back to my childhood.

That's me and my mom.

We both look normal enough, but those are the ones you gotta watch out for, everybody knows that.

Ever since I was a tiny little thing, I've had to raise my feet up every time I go over railroad tracks. I'm not sure why, but I'm fairly certain that some heinous tragedy will befall me if I do not.

Same for those Emergency Broadcasting System tests. As soon as they announce it, I have to run to the nearest bed, chair or sofa and make sure my feet aren't touching the ground until the test is over. I'm fairly sure I've saved y'all from a national nuclear catastrophe more than once with this particular move.

Awwwww, ain't I cute?

You'd never suspect what oddness lies just beneath the surface!

Here's another.

Somewhere along the way during my childhood, it became a matter of grave importance that the phrase

"Hot diggity dog" MUST be followed by the words"it's a junkyard."

Hey, waaaaaait a minute....that one's not so crazy after all! ;-)

Definitely prophetic, wouldn't ya agree?

Oh, yeah. That's me. Sad to say.

I'm not sure what's more pathetic, my ensemble or my rockin' curly hairstyle.

You're probably asking yourself, just how does one attain such perfect ringlets?
Look closer, I'm wearing pink, spongy curlers. The SHAME!

Not enough for ya? Behold, child abuse in action....

Not sure if you can make it all out clearly, but that's me.

Wielding a sword.

In curlers.

And a hair net.

Out in public!

And all documented for posterity by my clearly sadistic mother.

And she looked so sweet in that first picture, didn't she?

My weirdness extends to my pets.

Havok

Belle

Winnie

I've always given my animals middle names, as well as the baker's dozen assortment of quirky nicknames, too.

Let's just do the middle names today, shall we?

Winnie came to us as a Winnie. She already had her name, as she was a shelter kitty.

For some reason, she promptly became Winnie Bagel, I'm guessing because it sounds so much like Winnebago. Not so weird.

Then there's Belle.

My husband already had Belle when we met, but she too came with the name.

Very princess-y, and seriously devoid of personality.

I'm a big fan of Indian food, and there's a great South Indian dish known as Bhel Puri.

So, no brainer! She will henceforth and always carry Puri as her middle name!

And lastly, we have Havok.

Whenever I call the dogs, because we live on over 4 acres, I tend to summon them as a unit...

"Havok and Belle! Come, Havok and Belle!"

Ooooo, you guys are gettin' good, you already guessed it!

Havok's middle name is "AndBelle"!

And yes, my husband does look at me with the same bemused sense of "whaaaaa?" you guys have plastered across your faces this very moment.

I've got enough weird to fill another post or three, so don't worry, I'll follow this one up with some of the better stuff in the days ahead. This was just a whet-your-appetite sorta deal here.

In the meantime, what's your particular brand of weird?

I, for one, would LOVE to know! ;-)