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The Hands That Spooked The Cradle

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 A few days ago, I was walking along, in a bit of a hurry, just minding my own business really, when suddenly from behind me I heard someone say in Afrikaans; “Look at that man’s hands!” I didn’t need to turn around to know who he was speaking about. The voice belonged to a young boy. “Oh God, oh God, oh God!” another boy said in utter horror. I turned around to see two schoolboys, still in school uniform, standing behind me. The way they were behaving you would’ve sworn I was the monster in some black-and-white B grade horror movie from the 1950s. In my nearly 50 years on this planet, I am completely used to this kind of reaction by now, however, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered people who seemed so horrified before. There was a time when this sort of behaviour would irk me to no end. There are lots of things that I find hard to accept about society and the treatment of others with differences, but the one thing I have learned is that if you let something upset you that...
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Navigating The Neighbourhood Of Narrow-Mindedness

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One of the side-effects of having a crazy little thing called Moebius syndrome is that you are very noticeable everywhere you go - all the time, the whole time. People notice you in restaurants, on the street, in shopping centres, on the beaches. I like to think to myself that it's a bit like being Tom Cruise in a way. He also gets noticed in restaurants, on the street, in shopping centres, on the beach. The problem is though - and this may be the difference between myself and Tom Cruise, (apart from the great job, lots of money, beautiful ex wives and weird religion) - is that just after they notice you some people give you a weird disapproving look. Whenever I receive such a look it feels to me as if the sender of said look has just seen the worst sight of their lives and are highly rattled to be reminded that there are such things and people in the world capable of upsetting their day. I've become a master at spotting those looks in my life as I see them so often. I'm ev...
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Highlights, Lowlights and No Lights - 2022 In Review

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  As is with all the years in the 2020s so far, 2022 turned out to be a rather strange one. It was a year of sadness tinged with a pinch of happiness. It was a year in which everyone began to live life again after the plague. It was a year in which I lost one of the key people in my life from which I don't think my heart will ever heal. And it was a year in which I was reunited with someone without whom, if our paths had never crossed, my life could've been very different. The End Of Alcatraz It was 1 pm on a Monday afternoon. I was on my lunch break. The word "break" may be a bit of a misnomer here as while still working from home while on a break I have to cook lunch and wash the dishes too. (WFH=WTF) I find myself going back to work after my break in order to take a break from my lunch break. Suffice to say my dream girl is now no longer Cate Blanchett - but a 1950's housewife. You know the type, frilly apron- chained to the stove- brings you your slippers and...
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Greetings From Planet Moebius

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Moebius Syndrome - the rare frontier. These are the musings of an indomitable, eight-fingered, non-smiling and non-smoking individual - me. My continuing mission: to raise awareness about Moebius syndrome; to spread the news that each one of us deep down inside are all the same no matter what we may look like; to boldly joke like no-one has joked before. As you’ve no doubt just read in the first paragraph - thank you for making it this far - I was born with a rare condition known as Moebius syndrome. What is Moebius syndrome, you ask? In a nutshell, it is the absence or underdevelopment of the 6th and 7th cranial-facial nerves which are responsible for  smiling, frowning etc. So, while it is true that I can’t smile - I also cannot frown. While there is a thing such as  smile surgery - that’s a subject for another blog - there is no such thing as frown surgery. I think this is an oversight. There are quite a few people who I would just love to be able to frown at. How does it...
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