Separating Yourself from the Flock - Do You LOVE Things that Most People HATE

Shortlink to my blog.... http://wp.me/p13Md6-JR

Did you ever browse an online gallery of great stuff and notice that everything you love (and/or can afford) is “On Hold” or “Sold”? This happened to me a million times when I was “Windows-shopping” at Fab.com as a means of procrastinating on my tax preparation.  Liking what everyone else likes is so vanilla, it’s liking Pat Boone, the Partridge Family, or Justin Bieber, Readers Digest, USA Today and  “Fifty Shades of Grey” (without recognizing that it’s poorly written). It’s Pringles, cheese in a can and Pop Tarts.

And there I was scrolling through a hundred quilts and only six appealed to me, leading me to believe I had supremely discriminating taste, except that every one of the six antique Indian quilts made of recycled saris that caught my eye had caught someone else’s before mine. When this happens over and over again, it begins to make you feel positively mundane. As humans, we yearn to be recognized as special little snowflakes.  And yet life and shopping kept reminding me of my place among the masses.

So as a public service, I am offering you all a chance to release your inner rebel. Prove you're just a little different by commenting en masse on this post. What do you love that most people hate? Okay, “hate” is a strong word for veggies and Stooges , but I am a woman of passion and hyperbole, and I encourage those traits in others, but for you with delicate sensibilities I will rephrase the question.  What do you love that others despise, dislike, dismiss or dismay about?

Here are the first eight that fluttered into my unique mind.

1.  Shoveling Snow (without a snowblower, we're talking about using a shovel and your back, in cold, inhospitable New England weather, even in March when we should be so over the white stuff)
2.  Brussel Sprouts, Beets, Broccoli  (This bad bunch of veggies just taste good to me.  I especially can’t explain why I like beets, when they taste so much like dirt, but I do.)

3.  Dandelions (If you look at them with fresh eyes; you'll see that they really are very pretty. You can cover my yard, anyday. I wrote a whole blog homage to this flower. http://wp.me/p13Md6-rW )

Stooges photo is not property of Brain4Rent and was found uncredited on http://www.forcesofgeek.com/2012/04/slapstick-legacy-of-three-stooges.html

4.  Shemp of The Three Stooges (Added bonus, he shared a hairdo with my grandfather at age 20). Enjoy a youtube clip of his comedic genius. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veFlhmnZybc

5.  Cleaning my own bathroom (There are so many "AHA" moments of instant gratification throughout the process:  that sparkly white porcelain, the aroma of bleach that I equate with dead germs, a mirror devoid of toothpaste speckles. What’s not to love?)

6.  Squirrels (They can dig in my garden, empty my birdfeeder, rummage through my trash, as long as they entertain me with their acrobatic antics. Plus they are cute and inquisitive.)

7.  Taking Down the Christmas Tree (I wrote a blog on the dangers of Christmas trees that basically sums up my sentiment  http://wp.me/p13Md6-nX  )

and, finally, 

8.  When I am Proven Right…except maybe in this instance because if I convince you all that these are in fact good things, my uniqueness quotient deteriorates significantly, and I'll get all flocked up, again.

To see if we all like the same quilts, check out this link: http://fab.com/sale/20185/

COMMENTS ON THIS POST FROM FACEBOOK FRIENDS.....

• Claudia Panarese Jeanmaire Grocery shopping. Love it!
• Norma Brettell Cream cheese and olive sandwiches.
• David Greer Seagulls! I think they are beautiful, and I love how they soar...
• Carol Foynes Sandin Woodruff I'm with Norma..love an occasional cream cheese and olive sandwich!
• Carol Foynes Sandin Woodruff and sometimes liver and bacon!
• Paul Sykes I'm a wayward duck!!!
• Ann Domingue rainy days.
• Elizabeth Norton I don't know Alison, if I told you and facebook it would mean that there would be a separation of the flock, but also brings one closer to ones who might also see it from that perspective. Maybe it isn't so hate/love/black/white. Maybe the understanding of things is biased towards our culture/family/class etc. What do you think? I like seagulls, cream cheese and olive sand. L&O was a fav a long time ago. and horseradish is o.k. on some things.
• Elizabeth Norton o.k. so I will say one of my safer ones, cleaning and gutting a fish. There is something very earthy about catching and not releasing a fresh ocean caught fish right at the shore --cod, flounder, blue, etc. That once caught, I feel something of grace in my mind to take this fish's life and thank the fish for its life. The process becomes more mindful and spiritual in the taking. Cutting it open with a very sharp knife and becoming a surgeon and understanding the fish's anatomy, and doing it quickly hoping not to make it suffer more than it needs to, rinsing it in the ocean, scaling it, and leaving entrails in the water for the stander by seagulls. It just catches me off guard how important it is for me not to completely lose the connection to my environment and the food I eat. The smell of fresh caught fish is clean, and smells the like ocean. It is also a happy memory of being at the ocean that day, fishing like this, is is a peaceful pastime. The meal is almost always enjoyed with someone else and the presentation of the fish is special, nothing of this fish will have gone to waste.
• Gail Alleca Ollila This will take the cake ...I loved my colonoscopy..whatever drugs they gave me made me high as a kite...I remember thinking wow this is the happiest day of my life
• Alison Colby-Campbell Ok Gail you won!
• Barbara Ritz true, that is, good stuff, but short-lived...thrill
• Alison Colby-Campbell Keep em coming this is fascinating...Elizabeth....you were thinking far deeper than I and I appreciate the chance to delve a bit more...I'm with you on seagulls, cream cheese and olive, horseradish and rainy days...absolutely believe you are onto something unique with the fish gutting, and the colonscopy and grocery shopping and liver and onions....
• Elizabeth Norton I suck at chit-chat.
• Barbara Ritz noooo
• Alison Colby-Campbell Erik Aka Rambo actually posted his comment on the blog...this gives me extra credit in blog world, but I wouldn't wanted to have missed this FB exchange for anything..but if you come up with another one...feel free to post on my blog.
• Paul Sykes Mud!!!!!!!!!!!
• David Greer I looove lima beans! I like the colonoscopy drugs, but not the preparation. If you like the night before, I will be very impressed!(???)
• Leslie Holmquist Jesus?
• Elizabeth Norton mud has to be outside, not in the house or car
• Elizabeth Norton clams and oysters for breakfast
• Alison Colby-Campbell LH - really? you think most people hate Jesus?? They might ignore, or not believe, but hate? Wow that's a perspective I do not share.
• Alison Colby-Campbell PS Why do you like mud? How do you like mud?
• Gina Christoforo Laundry & ironing
• Alison Colby-Campbell ew Gina, if you've ever seen me with a freshly pressed item, it's probably new...I am not a fan of ironing
• Alison Colby-Campbell BR what do you put horseradish on/in? I like it but can only think of a couple of applications: Bloodly Mary's and roast beef
• Norma Brettell I will enter one for my husband. He loves to drive in the rain. Go figure.
• Alison Colby-Campbell @Gail Alleca Ollila I told your story at dinner with the Colby 6 last night....so they'll all be looking at you differently next time they see you!
• Gail Alleca Ollila I'm quite used to that...
• Jonathan Campbell Moxie
• Alison Colby-Campbell Moxie tastes like sucking on pennies...but Jon is more like the rest of my she-siblings and mother who love the stuff...Ick! Ick! Ick
• Alison Colby-Campbell DG Seagulls are the bird equivalent of squirrels...both have been called rat mutations: Rats with wings, Rats with furry tails, but full disclosure, my friend Judy had a pet rat I really liked too.
• Jonathan Campbell I thought pigeons were rats with wings.
• Alison Colby-Campbell I've heard that too, about pigeons, but it seems rats are being stereotypically maligned on many fronts