E-Mail
Print
tool name
closeYou probably already know more details about our county government soap opera than you wanted to. No doubt, you read about the investigation that brought on the firing of our assistant county administrator.
She was also the county’s negotiator for union contracts. The investigation report said she allegedly had been sexually involved with the negotiator for the Deputy Sheriffs Association.
You probably also read about the e-mails she exchanged with her boss, the recently fired county administrator. In them she and he discussed her relationships with guys.
So I’m not going to rehash that hash. I’m just wondering if we’ve become numb to that kind of news. These days governors do it, presidents do it and lots of people on TV do it.
It’s been decades since I heard the word: “inhibitions.” You remember inhibitions, those mental or social taboos that restrained us from doing certain things we wanted to.
I can remember a time when people worried about being too inhibited. Psychoanalysts were interviewed about the dangers of inhibitions.
They described self-help programs for escaping inhibitions. Movies dramatized the happily-ever-after lives of people who conquered their inhibitions.
I remember a joke from back then. It takes place in a soda fountain. Soda fountains were once almost as popular as today’s Starbucks stores. This soda fountain advertised the ultimate of all soda-fountain concoctions. It contained multiple ice creams, syrups, fruits and, of course, soda. They called it the “Empire State Building Chocolate Cha-Cha-Cha.”
One of the soda jerks who worked there developed a phobia to this “Empire State” concoction. One day he made one and dumped it on the head of the young woman who ordered it. He immediately fell to his knees, tore his hair, proclaimed his guilt and shame and begged forgiveness.
He told his boss he felt guilty and ashamed and promised it would never happen again. But it did, the next day. His kind-hearted boss, however, didn’t fire him, but instead sent him to a psychiatric hospital.
Three month’s later the soda jerk returned, clear-eyed and confident. He was cured. He had a certificate. His boss put him back to work. Then one day a woman ordered an “Empire State.”
The soda jerk calmly constructed it and without hesitation dumped it on her head.
The boss hollered, “I thought you were cured.”
“Oh, I am,” insisted the soda jerk. “I no longer feel the least bit guilty or ashamed.”
My message today is: Inhibitions would be harder to reintroduce than the California condor, but might be worth a try.
Contact Phil Dirkx at phild2008@sbcglobal.net or 238-2372.
What you should know about comments on SanLuisObispo.com
SanLuisObispo.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. See our full terms of service here.
Here are some rules of the road:
- Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
- Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
- Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
- Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and leave him a public message.
- Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
- Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
- Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
- Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
You should also know that The Tribune does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at webmaster@sanluisobispo.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the username of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to webmaster@sanluisobispo.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
About comments
Reader comments on SanLuisObispo.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Tribune. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.