Pathological crying

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

[stupid post -- please ignore if you hate stupid posts by me and know your "you are stupid" fingers are just itching to push the "you are stupid, so there" button. Please? Nothing to see here, and I admit fully and up front that this is just plain weird.]

 

Ok, so I finally broke down and googled. I didn't even know what to put in the little search box, but "crying disorder" found me looking at "pathological crying" and "inappropriate emotional expression disorder."

 

Well. Okey dokey.

 

I can't sing anymore and I can't read poetry out loud anymore. And I don't mean moving hymns of triumph and passion or poems of gallantry and sweeping elegance. I mean ANYthing poetic. The Three Little Kittens, sometimes. Rock a Bye Baby, if I'm reading slowly or if there are many rhymes in a row about babies or kittens or tygers burning bright. I can work on the railroad, but I absolutely cannot, CANNOT even think about John Henry with the hammer in his hand.

 

Lord, lord.

 

I can't go to church. People think I'm needing saving. My kids inch slowly away in the pew. (Ok, they don't, really. They are sweetly sympathetic and very amused.) Little do people around me who sense an altar call response know that I can't even hum along to Dolly Parton singing about Jolene not taking her man without copious tears, so it's not that And Can It Be delivered fervently, with trumpets and trombones and the whole congregation singing all extant verses, is moving me into religious fervor.

 

Oddly enough, though, that's exactly what "Sleep, Baby, Sleep" feels like -- a religious experience, a movement of spirit. (Or Spirit, whichever.)

 

After about three years of increasing lack of control, I have to tell you this is getting amazingly ridiculous. How can I go through life not singing? This stinks.

 

Thoughts? Commiserations? Somebody want to just come over and push me on over into the deep end?

[Mom2legomaniacs]

Oh sweetie! :grouphug: I just don't know what to say. Just :grouphug:

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

Oh sweetie! :grouphug: I just don't know what to say. Just :grouphug:

 

More than anything, it's just freakin' annoying. KWIM? Just... grrrrr! :glare:

[genie]

I do have a lot of experience with this, but only second-hand. My dad has increasing problems with this. For him, it's mostly when he thinks about someone from the past or tells an old story. I'm not sure if it's a symptom of his Parkinson's disease, or if it's from one of the many medications he has to take, or if it's just something that's happening for no known reason, like it sounds like you might be dealing with. I know he gets embarrassed by it. His doctor even tried putting him on an anti-depressant but he didn't take it for long. Not sure why.

 

It's hard seeing my dad cry. He's one of those "tough as nails" kind of men. I remember having to help him patch up deep gashes he would get from working in his mechanic shop, and he wouldn't bat an eye. I think it hurt me more than it hurt him.

 

So I don't have a clue what to tell you, I can only commiserate to some extent. But if in the future you do learn something about it that helps, I sure would appreciate it if you'd share it with me.

 

:grouphug:

[Kathleen in VA]

Well, I can't totally relate but I can somewhat relate. I had to quit the choir at church because I would start crying while singing the songs. I can't sing The Star-Bangled Banner or America, The Beautiful either. I cry about the littlest things and my kids all know it and they just put up with me. I cry when I'm reading aloud to them and have to pass the book to someone else to finish the chapter. I don't know what to tell you, but I thought it might help to know there is someone else out there who cries easily.

[*anj*]

Yeah, I think that would be annoying. I've always been a crier, so I'm just used to it. And And Can it Be is one of my favorites, actually. But yeah, remember that commercial called "Julie Through the Glass"? Do you? Does anyone? It was about this girl who had just been born, but her father was imagining her all grown up and married. It made me cry every time.

 

But crying over "Jolene"?

I think maybe it's Her Only Reliable Means Of Never Ending Succor. You know? ;)

[Mama Lynx]

Is this what you mean? I increasingly cannot read *anything* aloud without having to stop and keep myself from crying. It could be anything. It could be Danny and the Dinosaur. Forget singing to my kids, I certainly can't do that.

 

I don't think mine is as bad as what you describe, but ... is that what you mean?

 

It's almost like being pregnant. I first knew I was pregnant when the song "Shiny Happy People" had me in real tears.

[Liz CA]

More than anything, it's just freakin' annoying. KWIM? Just... grrrrr! :glare:

 

...that darned time in life when one evaluates the past, the present and the future, you know that time when one has lived approximately as many years as may be in one's future a.k.a mid-life.

 

The realization that some things are truly in the past, some consequences from the past are still in the present and may even throw their shadows into the future and then the future - that whole unknown thing.

The realization that the kids will be kids no more in a few short years or a few short months, that a new phase of life is beginning / has begun.

 

Those are some of the *stoopid* things I ponder and should probably NOT write about or actually speak out loud...

The good thing is - for me at least - I have finally been able to make some progress in figuring out what are the really important things in my life and what does really not matter.

A silver cloud at least.

May I suggest a little Baileys over some ice? :001_smile:

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

I do have a lot of experience with this, but only second-hand. My dad has increasing problems with this. For him, it's mostly when he thinks about someone from the past or tells an old story.

 

You know, poetry is my only trigger. In fact, I can tell if a song is crap or not if I can sing it and not cry! :D

 

It's like there's a spot in my brain that just fires crazy weeping neurons. Just one spot. Even being sad in general doesn't make me weep. (Well, obviously sometimes, but not EVERY time. Every sad thing doesn't move me to tears.)

 

I will pass along anything I learn. I'm sorry about your dad. It sounds like he has a lot to have to deal with. (And you, too, watching it.)

[OhM]

For me it's not just poetry - it's *anything* that can be considered artistic...

 

It's not necessarily the *words* of a song, or it is. Could just be the harmony. If it is the words, they might mean nothing, or they could connect me right back to an emotionally charged experience in my youth. Or some mundane experience. Could be the imagery in a poem. Or maybe just the rhyme. Or the meter. Maybe an image - photographic or otherwise. (Shoot, it could even be the combination of color in an abstract work.)

 

Annoying is right! I can sit through weddings and funerals keeping my emotions firmly in check. I can weather reports of injury, death and illness without a drop, but I can't make it through I Hear America Singing without waterworks.

 

What Anj said, I think...

[OhM]

song "Shiny Happy People" had me in real tears.

 

:D

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

Is this what you mean? I increasingly cannot read *anything* aloud without having to stop and keep myself from crying. It could be anything. It could be Danny and the Dinosaur. Forget singing to my kids, I certainly can't do that.

 

Well, shoot, I lied. Well-written prose does it, too, and it doesn't have to be particularly emotional. Only when I read it aloud.

 

Freaky.

 

Is this mid-life madness? I want a do-over. I want to read Over in the Meadow to my 4 y/o. :confused:

[Rhondabee]

Is this what you mean? I increasingly cannot read *anything* aloud without having to stop and keep myself from crying. It could be anything. It could be Danny and the Dinosaur. Forget singing to my kids, I certainly can't do that.

 

I don't think mine is as bad as what you describe, but ... is that what you mean?

 

It's almost like being pregnant. I first knew I was pregnant when the song "Shiny Happy People" had me in real tears.

 

For me it is more akin to nursing. With my first dc we were watching "The Last Action Hero" and the bad guy was listing off evil personages from various movies he hoped to bring into real life...When he got to "Rosemary's Baby", the mere mention of the word "baby" made my milk let down and the whole front of shirt was instantly sopping wet.

 

That's the same physical rush I get now when reading, watching, singing - that sort of thing - only now it wells up in tears. And I just have to stop and breathe. The other night I was crying over "Everybody Loves Raymond" of all things - too wierd!

 

:001_smile:

Rhonda

[*anj*]

I sobbed through the last chapter of Understood Betsy. I mean, like I had to ask ds11 to take the book and finish reading it aloud for me. He of course refused, being that he is 11 and finds it amusing to watch his mother cry while reading a book. :glare:

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

For me it is more akin to nursing. With my first dc we were watching "The Last Action Hero" and the bad guy was listing off evil personages from various movies he hoped to bring into real life...When he got to "Rosemary's Baby", the mere mention of the word "baby" made my milk let down and the whole front of shirt was instantly sopping wet.

 

That's the same physical rush I get now when reading, watching, singing - that sort of thing - only now it wells up in tears. And I just have to stop and breathe. The other night I was crying over "Everybody Loves Raymond" of all things - too wierd!

 

Have you ever noticed that on the day that your milk comes in, your tears also flow copiously? (Or at least mine did.) That's the day for initiation of baby blues, if you have them.

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

Yeah, I think that would be annoying. I've always been a crier, so I'm just used to it. And And Can it Be is one of my favorites, actually. But yeah, remember that commercial called "Julie Through the Glass"? Do you? Does anyone? It was about this girl who had just been born, but her father was imagining her all grown up and married. It made me cry every time.

 

But crying over "Jolene"?

I think maybe it's Her Only Reliable Means Of Never Ending Succor. You know? ;)

 

I only cry at Jolene when I'm singing along, though, not when I hear it.

 

I'm sitting here with a Mike's, a heating pad, an open bottle of green olives, and a can of cashews. BUT I'M NOT HORMONAL!!! OKAY???? :smash: :angry: :smash:

[Parabola]

Wow. So there are others. There are a number of books that I've read to my kids that have been a struggle to get through without breaking down. Big huge lump in my throat that was painful and hard to get the words past. The last one was "The Great Kapok Tree". It seems that books about environmental devastation and the fate of the earth are my triggers.

So whenver we read books teaching about how to steward the Earth correctly, something I believe in so firmly that if there was only one thing I was allowed to teach my kids, that would be it, I cry my way through it. Bawling over recycling books. Cuckoo cuckoo.

 

It's almost like being pregnant. I first knew I was pregnant when the song "Shiny Happy People" had me in real tears.

I think there's something to that, I wasn't like this before pregnancy. I attribute it to hormones, like someone suggested.

[Jenny in Atl]

Sorry to say, this is normal! It's just our age. We know that this is not forever, that this is precious.

 

My mother sent me this the other day. I was left totally wet with tears for a while after reading it. I will share... :D Who knows if it's true, even if it's not, I would still not make it through reading it without sobbing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

This is one of the kindest things I've ever experienced. I have no way to know who sent it, but there is a beautiful soul working in the dead letter office of the US postal service.

 

 

 

 

 

Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month.The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

 

Dear God,

 

Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.

 

I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her. You will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

 

Love, Meredith.

 

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

 

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, "To Meredith , " in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, "When a Pet Dies." Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

 

 

 

 

Dear Meredith,

 

Abbey arrived safely in heaven.

 

Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.

 

Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

 

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.

 

I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much.

 

By the way, I'm easy to find, I am wherever there is love.

 

Love,

God

[Rhondabee]

Aww, Man! No fair, my dd's sleeping and I need to hold her now!

 

I do agree that partly this is age. I *so* much more *enjoy* my 3yo dd than I ever just *enjoyed* my boys (who are now 13 and 10). It's not that I love her more - my boys were actually sweeter! But, I just savor every moment I have with her - which is wierd because I was *not* happy when I realized she was on the way -LOL!

 

=)

Rhonda

[Scarlett]

A disorder? Hmmmm.....I thought I was just a Drama Queen. EVERYTHING makes me cry. Jolene? Yep. Good Night Moon? Yep. The symphony? Yep. Charlottes Webb put on by the Young Actors Guild? Yep.

 

I don't know how you get hold of yourself when this stuff hits. If you find out let me know.

[Remudamom]

Easy Peasy kiddoe, I can help with the singing. I bawl at every song I hear.

 

Just concentrate on your singing, when to breathe, look at the notes, feel your voice. Concentrate on the grammar of the music, as in grammar stage. Take it apart and put it back together while you're singing. Works for me.

 

Reading? You're on your own.

[Catherine]

and it IS very embarassing.

 

I've also noticed the tears\milk coming in connection, in fact, I recall sweating profusely that day as well, like my body just needed to put a lot of fluid out into the world! Weird! I think I must have lost several baby pounds that one day alone.

 

I have tried to handle this by mentally preparing ahead of time, visualizing myself not crying, practicing thinking about the trigger and not crying. It didn't work very well : /

[Laura K (NC)]

I was going to ask you how old you are. :leaving:

 

Emotional swings are part of it. I'm 41 and I'm more emotional than I used to be. I've always considered myself kind of a tough nut, more logical than emotional, but I can't read children's books at all. I think I was sniffling through Kafka's The Metamorphosis, and that's just pitiful!

 

I am a cantor in church and I'll sing for weddings and funerals maybe 6-10 times a year. I'm okay if I don't know the family and I don't look at them. If I see a hanky being used anywhere I'll blubber all the way home, whether it's tears of sadness or joy. It's a real liability not to be able to sing... especially when you're getting paid to do it. :glare:

 

My last story: Like I said, I consider myself pretty tough. I was a cub scout leader for many years for my youngest son's den of 7 boys. No other moms were really involved, just me and a few dads. This group of boys was a lot of work and I was really, really glad to graduate them to boy scouts so I could relax and not DO that anymore. The day of the ceremony I rushed around, getting the decorations and snacks and ceremony ready, and I was too busy to think about getting verklempt. When I called my own son's name and listed his accomplishments I totally lost it in front of about 100 people. I couldn't finish reading his list. I felt like such a ... such a woman there in that group of mostly men and boys. Might as well paint a big "L" on my head. I was happy to be done with them! I had no regrets! There was no reason for tears! But there I was. Dang it. :crying:

[Brigitte]

I'm sitting here with a Mike's, a heating pad, an open bottle of green olives, and a can of cashews. BUT I'M NOT HORMONAL!!! OKAY???? :smash: :angry: :smash:

 

Mike's, olives, and cashews??????? Are you pregnant? That would explain the crying. :D

 

 

Sorry, that was not helpful. Could it just be stress?

[gardening momma]

Since it's not something you've experienced your whole life (it's been the last 3 years, I think you said), you might want to check with your GN. It could be a hormonal imbalance that can be corrected. It doesn't have to be related to pregnancy, breastfeeding or pms to be hormonal.

[Mamagistra]

It's like there's a spot in my brain that just fires crazy weeping neurons.

 

I don't mean to interject, but I have a similar cerebral spot that very nearly fired some crazy-loud curse words at the employees of both Kohl's and Kroger this afternoon. :glare:

 

:grouphug: Back to our regularly scheduled Mike's... :D

[jkwynn]

Ok, so what if it *is* something you've experienced most of your life?

 

With me - I cry in the weirdest situations...in school, it was if I had to talk to a teacher, school counselor, principal, even the librarian, alone. Not b/c I was in trouble though...like even if I had to talk about an essay contest THAT I WON - to try and get the info right for the announcement in the paper, I couldn't help but cry about it. (I'm not talking happy tears, though...)

 

I can't go to the doctor w/o crying no matter what it's - for from an eye exam (lol) to a regular pg check up where all they do is listen for the heartbeat and measure your belly - I cry at the dentist too. I've even been known to cry when my son goes to the dentist. What's that about?

 

I've cried trying to get my cable hooked up - on the phone with a CSR.

 

It almost seems like it's an authority thing...but the cable guy? Really?

 

And yes, very annoying. As a kid, I'd cry when I was mad, and I still do that, too. If DH ticks me off, I cry and then I can't think straight enough to argue my point, lol. So we've learned to email fight, and I make much more sense.

 

That's weird, right?

[nancypants]

I cry at songs... some songs, not all songs. Definitely not at pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been and Jack be nimble, Jack be quick. But Definitely at songs and poems that really do move me. But I think they have to be true for them to move me. I am unmoved by untrue things -- well, not unmoved... just not moved to tears! :lol: I also cry at weddings and ministerial ordinations (that's a pastor's wife for ya.)

[mcconnellboys]

LOL, well thanks for informing me that I have yet Another Disorder. I've just been telling folks for the past 8 or so years that when you get old, your pipes leak.

 

Hey, they caught me off guard last time I was home and went to church with a favorite old spiritual that they (I know purposefully) left off the program. Even my Dad was taken aback by my cracking voice and streaming eyes mid-way through.....oy......

 

I kept telling the folks at my old church here that they needed to place tissue dispensers on all aisles to prevent others like me from the need of making a speedy exit to find relief for dripping noses mid-way through the sermon. I don't think they believed me. That minister is gone now. Maybe the new one doesn't share such philosophical thoughts.... The youth minister was constantly reminding people (I think solely for my benefit) that some people experience the Spirit moving in them by laughing, others by crying.....

 

I can't sing anyway, so there's no loss. But people do wonder at my just standing there breaking down over the songs, too, even when I'm not saying a word. And FORGET trying to deliver a speech, speak poetry out loud, or even just read about any sort of book at all if it includes any sort of thing that could be considered in the least way emotional (happy, sad, doesn't matter)....

 

Right before the end of school, my son and I were in a restaurant that we've gone to regularly for years. We had a long-time waiter who knows we homeschool. I was reading a little from a book about Three Mile Island and Chernobyl while we waited. There was an intro piece about Hiroshima leading up to the Chernobyl section. You would think that after I'd read about 500 books on that same topic this school year, I could have read a paragraph or two about the details and statistics without cracking up. Nope. At least it illicited favorable comments from our waiter, sigh..... She thinks I'm the best ever hsing mom. Gee, if only tears could make it so....

 

Oh well, drink up - cheers!

[gardening momma]

Ok, so what if it *is* something you've experienced most of your life?

I don't know. It just seems that if it's not your "normal" emotional state of being, it may be something worth checking out.

 

If it has been something you've dealt with your whole life, I'd first do some research online to figure out what kind of specialist to see, and then see if they can help. I think it would be worth it. I wouldn't go to a general practitioner, though.

[gardening momma]

Check out this article--"The Truth About Tears"

 

http://pages.prodigy.net/drrae/ttat4.htm

[DIY-DY]

Thoughts? Commiserations? Somebody want to just come over and push me on over into the deep end?

 

Two lines in, and I've got tears streaming forcefully from both ducts. Aloud, to myself, or hearing someone else read/recite it - doesn't matter, I'm off and weeping. It's awful.

 

Lately, even just making sustained eye contact with the baby, or telling a story to the Smidge, or watching the eldest ride around doing his Daffy Duck laugh... and there I go. *snuffle-snuffle* DH probably suspects that I've got *killer* allergies, b/c I'm constantly stuffed up and red-eyed.

 

Church? Always been a crier. Which is ironic b/c I'm not a girly-girl, really, in any sense of the word. And definitely not into emotional denominations. So, yeah, there I sit, in a quiet, non-interactive, very subdued setting, and something's gonna make me cry. Sermon. Scripture reading. Hymns. You name it. Prayer, I can generally sleep through (tongue in cheek - I do try to stay awake, but let's face it, I'm tired from all that crying by the end of the service). I'm sure the folks around me think I'm harboring some awful, soul-wrenching secret that's gnawing it's way out. I'm not. I just feel so much (not so much anything - it's that. I. FEEL. so. much.) while I'm sitting there, listening, that I literally well up and overflow. Evidently, I keep my overflowing cup in my sinus cavity. Who knew?

 

Anyway, no help (obviously), but plenty of commiseration. {{hugs}}

Dy

[Mamagistra]

I've just been telling folks for the past 8 or so years that when you get old, your pipes leak.

 

LOL Er, amen?! :001_huh:

 

:lol::lol:

[girligirlmom]

My nickname was waterworks when I was a kid. My sister picked it. Nice, huh?

 

Well I grew up and about 2 years ago I started consulting with a homeopath for my dc and me regarding seasonal and food allergies.

 

My dd is a crier, burning teary eyes during allergy season, etc. and so was I. Turns out we each needed different remedies based on our symptoms. I needed Sepia and my dd needed Pulsatilla. After looking up Pulsatilla turns out that was me as a child!

 

Weird thing is that I thought the homeopathic remedy would only help with the allergies. Much to my surprise my dd is no longer a crier and I am usually no one anymore , expect when I need more remedy. Homeopathy has helped us heal in all ways, not just one physical area but all and also mental/emotional.

 

We are now taking our remedy about once every 2 weeks but at first it was every other day. My dd is almost done. She needed it more often in May during her tree allergy season, but hasn't taken it in weeks. Even when stressed she can bounce back within minutes, whereas prior to taking Pulsatilla her bounce back ability was hours or even days!

 

Same thing happened to me. At first I could cry at so many things it wasn't funny. And it wasn't easy since I used to be a Network Engineer and I worked with all guys. They just don't get crying. It was worse when I was pregnant. Now after taking Sepia in incrementally increasing levels but decreasing amounts, I am crying much less. I only get like that monthly and only when stressed like when dh is traveling. It is so nice to not be the crier anymore.

[Soph the vet]

I was trying to find contrasting graphs that I have seen regarding male and female reproductive hormone levels but I couldn't find them! The female one looked like an intertwining rollercoaster of multiple hormones: FSH, LH, estrogen, progesterone, oxytocin, prolactin......and the male, just a flatline of testosterone:lol:.

 

I cry every time I read Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" speech. I think crying is a good thing. I have a friend who is so good at crying with others, you can tell she is sincerely moved with compassion over the grieving one's situation. It is a gift she can give others to "weep with those who weep".

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

Yep, hormones.

 

I used to wonder what was wrong with me because I couldn't cry in normal tearful situations. Now, I cry tons more than before. Hearing John Denver sing turns me into a quivering mass of jelly. In fact any music in that same guitar/storytelling style gets me going. I've also become much more sensitive about the tone of voice dh and the kids use when they talk to me.

 

I had a couple of weeks of crying almost non-stop when I put myself on a low-fat (10% of calories) diet a few months ago. When I finally figured out what it was, I ate half a pan of brownies, and stopped counting my fat calories. I've felt much better since then. :-)

[Doran]

My tears are not as predicable as yours, but they are undoubtedly equally frequent. I figure we should all pool our money and take out stock in Kleenex.

 

It's a new day today. You've got a belly full of olives and nuts, and maybe you took up the idea of a Mike's or some Bailey's? You're in line at the rollercoaster yet again. Let go, throw your hands up in the air, and do your best to enjoy the ride.

 

 

Given that I'm not offering a great deal here, I thought this might help......;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DollyM]

I have been encouraged by this thread - thanks to Pam for starting it and thanks to the rest of you for posting.

 

I guess I've always been a cryer - I can remember crying at the drop of a hat when I was a kid ... but now it's worse.

 

Stories/literature: Black Beauty at age 10, the bike race chapter of Moveable Feast at age 17, The end of Winnie the Pooh at age 39, the birthday party fiasco in Cannery Row last week.

 

Patriotic stuff: The sight of red/white/blue bunting when I was about 6 to a Field trip to the grave of George Washington with my kids when I was about 40.

 

Heroic stuff: My uncles personal memoirs about rescuing the survivors at the Santo Tomas concentration camp in Manila, WWII.

 

Anything by Peggy Noonan. - her 911 pieces I cannot even read aloud at all.

 

Teaching in VBS (to make it worse, they had me dressed up like an old testament woman, very embarassing. Parents called me the next day to inquire if I was okay. The pastor even. Sigh.)

 

Slide shows of landscape photos - from the DisneyLand surround show of America (at age 10) to shots taken on DD's trip abroad and shown last Saturday ... in a group of folks wondering if I was taken ill or what.

 

Singing patriotic songs: US National Anthem at Tivoli Gardens age 15 right up to singing "God Bless America" with a bunch of retirees at a concert in the park last night - so apparently I've always been a cryer - but it's worse now.

 

It's embarassing and annoying but never has been debilitating.