To Mr Anonymous

For several months an unidentified person, male or female, has chosen to criticize various parts of my blogs. I do not pretend to be a grade A student of English and this particular person served to have me go back and re-read those blogs on which had commented. He or she has never revealed his identity(note, I will now refer to this party as a "he") but in my going back he was correct in criticizing my work. While his criticisms were generally not of my grammar, my sentence structure or things of that nature, his comments were more sarcastic and the fact that he remained in a shadow was annoying. I'm not sure why he bothers and if he is supposedly giving constructive criticism, it is difficult to see it as such. As I started out saying, in going back to re-read my work, I deserved to be subjected to some sarcasm. Why I never audited myself is hard to explain, although some of it is a result of my lack of computer skill, it is now too late to worry about. I did what I did and now can suffer rightful criticisms.

However to now respond to this person that chooses not to come forward, I would really like to know who you are and as of now you are forgiven for any irritations I may have had of you. I receive comments from a couple of people I have never met but when they speak of one of my blogs, I send an e mail expressing my thanks for their interest in my work. For you who may continue to remain hidden, my blogs are a result of a continuing history of a Father who likes to write about his past or present life. I will still write an occasional blog when I am inspired to do so and this one is a challenge to you to reveal who you are so that I may find another friend who likes to comment on what I have to say. If you choose not to admit who Mr Anonymous is, at least make your comments so I can read them. Your last contribution was in French and as you have pointed out, my English is the problem.

The Exams

They were somewhat challenging but certainly interesting and I strangely enjoyed it for over two hours. It's rather strange that at this age I am still taking examinations. Well, it was actually only one test but it had to do with my mental acuity. Let me go back and explain. For some reason the VA decided I should be tested for my ability to demonstrate my ability to reason and determine at what stage was my dimensia. how was my memory or what had I forgotten etc. So I arrived at the office of a PHD and she was delightful. First off, I saw a plaque on her wall indicating she had attended the Un. of Buffalo-my old Alma Mater.That started up a lively conversation of where she lived and where I lived, both of which were well known areas to both of us. Later I realized our enthusiastic conversation was because she was sizing me up. But then the tests began. I did explain before we started that years ago I had gone through a battery of tests with another PHD and he left a bad taste in my mouth because his report stated nothing definitive about me. It was all qualified with could, should, might and so forth and I accused him of being gutless in a report that showed nothing of what or who I was. Dr Brown assured me I would have a specific report before I left her office and I felt placated with that assurance. She took out a sheet of paper and marked it with a middle mark and other marks on each side, which I found out later, indicated the middle mark being average and the marks on the right side were for above average and the ones on the left were below average. There were several forms of tests, math, cultural i.e. "who wrote Faust or who was leader of the French army during the 1800s". Several other tests for the purpose of determining the state of my memory. There were too many to go into but they all were ,as I said before, challenging but interesting. Dr Brown (Christina) was very social, so much so that I asked if I could take her to lunch one day soon. She replied not for two years. When I looked at her questioningly, she said "You are my patient and there has to be a 2 year period before further socializing could take place." Shucks, just my luck! Well, to sum up, all her marks were above the average line, some even high average, and two or three notations were"superior". She kept encouraging me when I faltered at one or another point and I did very poorly on one test which asked me to take some blocks and with the method they were colored, arrange them to look like pictures she showed me. As I tried to do so I said "This isn't my strength". and she replied "That's obvious." Oh well, one engineering failure isn't too bad for my age. She was very pointed in saying the tests had a limit for those up to the age of 85 and I was doing very well. So that sums up an unforgettable experience and as I departed, I remarked,"I'll look forward to calling you in two years". She smiled and said to me "Don't forget". I thought as I left, "I wonder what she meant by that"?