Man Talk - The Sequel

By David Hughes

This is the second book by David Hughes on the subject of his own personal feelings and opinions of the world he lives and exists in, covering 2010 to 2017, with updates and new and more interesting personal thoughts, experiences and actual true facts. The book details his acquired knowledge and the beliefs that he has obtained as he trawled through the world around him. His life has been totally different and is far more complex in comparison to the world in which most persons will exist. The world has had the little red book and the little black book and now there is the little blue book!

• Language: English
• Publisher: A H Stockwell
• Release date: May 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9780722348291

David Hughes

David Hughes trained as a letterpress typesetter in the 1970s, gaining a (now obsolete) City and Guilds qualification at Kitson College of Technology in Leeds, UK. He worked on the Evening Press in York and the South London Press as a Linotype operator. After retraining on the computerised "new technology" he hung up his apron in the early 90s, mainly due to boredom! He keeps in touch with the letterpress scene through his printers' nostalgia website "Metal Type" and keeps up with the practical side of things producing letterpress business cards at Metal Type Printing.

Book preview

MAN TALK: THE PLAIN ENGLISH MANUAL

The Little Blue Book

David Hughes

ARTHUR H. STOCKWELL LTD

Torrs Park, Ilfracombe, Devon, EX34 8BA

Established 1898

www.ahstockwell.co.uk

2018 digital version by Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

© David Hughes, 2018

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright holder.

Arthur H. Stockwell Ltd and Andrews UK Limited bear no responsibility for the views expressed in this book. The opinions are those of the author only.

The Introduction - 2010 to 2017

Life, Now: What’s It All About?

Way, Way, Beyond the Normal

This handbook is about my very own personal feelings. My very own personal thinking! My own ideas! My own reasoning! My own experiences! My own knowledge! My own and very different life! Oh, I often feel like I am not in one piece - not all there. I never seem to be in the same world as everybody else. I never seem to respond to events happening in the world in the normal way.

Some say I am not always right! But quite clearly in my own mind I am usually never ever wrong!

My very own often spoken words are probably the same words that many think but never say!

If you make or even cause ripples to form make sure you are totally aware of how far they may or could travel!

Your reflex action should always be defence and never be seen as an attack!

Be aware it is difficult to exist safely if both of your arms and both of your legs are strangers to each other!

There can certainly be far more unknown than there is actually known about the world around us.

The soft option is the easiest path to take, but the hard path can be the most rewarding and the most satisfying.

The world has had the little red book the little black book - now there is the little blue book!

This is my second blue book covering 2010 to 2017 with updates and new and more interesting personal thoughts, new experiences and actual true facts.

Who I am to actually judge another? Is judging always the sensible way to go forward or can you or others suffer or cause catastrophic consequences?

Always be very aware of emotional intelligence because it can cloud your better judgement and even lead your thoughts astray.

If any person does not agree with anything I say I am very approachable, willing and prepared to debate any issues, and I am always prepared to listen carefully and honestly to their views and arguments! Even if we can never agree we can still be friends for life!

One should always be aware that people, buildings and infrastructure can always be destroyed and replaced but you can never change or replace time or water! And you should always be able look into and acknowledge the past; to be able to see and exist in the future!

There is a whole world revolving constantly around my person and my brain is constantly being bombarded, peppered, shafted with all sorts of information and data, which is constantly dipping, slipping and snipping in and out of the very essential core of my previously damaged brain? Some of which are found to be interesting, good and even useful! Some are found to be bad, even very bad, and can be pitiful and not so useful - even extremely hurtful. The very person you may have called a friend and actually thought you could trust and rely on can often turn out to be not just an enemy, but one who could cause you harm or even destroy your lifestyle in such a way you will never find any way back.

I have to go way beyond the realms of possibility so many times that the answers I sometimes have may not ever have a recognisable or understandable question.

Pure is the word, the precious word that works for me. My feelings and my emotions are usually pure but never simple; they tend to come from deep inside my heart and my head. My dreams can be incredible and sensuous, and be snatched, even grabbed from the passing clouds or from a swirling mist, sometimes they are happy, short and sweet, sometimes they are broken, shattered and very long and stormy. My memories - my very own memories - they can be cast in pure gold and be my own life’s long captivated treasures.

The very resonance of a very simple but long, true and exciting life can be split in so many variable, simple and extremely deadly and traumatic ways!

We all live in the very same world, but we can actually exist in two totally different parts of the same world, which we can call normal and controversial. And we find that the controversial part becomes the bigger part every day.

Your own life could be from a very special dream that eventually could become a reality of enormous proportions and difficulties - a life which could be simple and one that could be dramatic and totally understandable!

You need to be totally in love with your very own heart before you can ever be in love and faithful with the heart of another!

The waves and gentle ripples of life can sadly be destroyed and traumatised by a deadly secret or by a dramatic and deadly tsunami.

Use your own eyes to clearly focus on your life. Be very aware of the possible infiltration and complications of others’ lives entering into yours. Use your own brain to understand the variations and possible complications the changes of life and the world around you. Use your own memory to remember and map life’s continuous happenings.

Life should all be about quality, and not be overshadowed and cloaked or replaced by quantity or any ghosted and truly false wealth.

Being disrespectful is a far easy option than earning respect, but means you will have far less standing or acceptance by others.

We are all given just the one life, and only one life, when we are born. When we enter the world our heart clock starts to tick and one day the clock will stop, we may never be able or have a chance to calculate when our time is up. If you are very lucky you may have a normal healthy and long life span. Some may have an unforeseen or unavoidable accident, some may suffer a fatal illness, some may have a short or long-term suffering of disability, and some of these fatalities we may receive could have been passed to us through the very genes that we inherit from our mother and father before we even enter the world. Our own gene make-up should be something we should try to understand and be aware of, because we could pass the same on to our children.

1. My Different Ways of Thinking

These are my very own, my very different ways of thinking and my very own interpretation of the same world we all live in.

Being so very different in so many ways I actually see a world which is filled with trauma, complications, terror and infinite life-threatening events caused by humans looking to make themselves the infinite lord and ruler of all.

You will find it is always good to have two opinions, especially if mine is one and is the first one!

Normality was the way of life invented by normal people, because normal people can spend all of their lives chasing a picture that their mind can continually see of a better existence and better life. But the picture resembles something they can actually never be, nor even ever actually obtain, and they never seem to realise it’s something they don’t actually need anyway.

I can easily exist in the normal world, but normal people find it difficult to relate to and understand what my world is, and they find they cannot easily exist in a life which can be totally different when compared to their own, and is often shrouded in complications. But that is my living world. They can find me to be too complicated to understand and far too complicated to try and relate with.

Life is not a game to be played! You cannot start, set, reset. Nor can you rewind or fast forward to suit your moods.

It would often seem that total ignorance is a virtue actually enjoyed by normal persons!

The man who is different is the one who always seems truly calm and confident in any crisis that causes a normal person to run, panic and scream for help. A normal person often thinks that this calm appearance is because someone different is stupid and doesn’t understand the danger! Well, you see, because my brain is lightning quick it can rapidly analyse the danger and work out how to deal with it, and while normal people are running I will have worked out that the danger is not life threatening and so there is no need to panic. Typical example: four adult people standing indoors at Christmas watching children playing in the garden with snowballs! Two children notice the parents watching behind the patio doors so throw snowballs at them! Three of the people watching scream and duck, one person doesn’t move because his (my) brain had worked out there was no danger! The three people who ducked then turn to the different person and protect their own silly reaction by making out I did not see the snowballs hitting the glass!

You first need to be able to completely understand and accept yourself for who you are and what you actually are. Above all, never look at anything that is bigger than your own head! So never try to solve a problem which is beyond your very own capabilities! Never try to go beyond the realms of your own limits and never exceed your own level!

A person may never know themselves, and never accept, or be able to accept, their own limitations or capabilities, but others will, as will persons who are different.

You should never put an end point on what you believe is your limitation or capabilities as they could really be total and truly endless.

Trying to be, or copying, someone you actually can never be will totally confuse you, and it will also be totally confusing to others. The best and truly only way to be really impressive to others is to just display the real you and be your own true self in every way. If you try to con others you will also con yourself and you could live in a totally fantasy world of make-believe and constant dramas riddled with falseness and extreme harm.

If you always keep your past in front of you, then you will never be able to surpass it and exist in a liveable future.

A person may prefer to have pets because they cannot afford a partner. The affordability might be financially, physically, mentally or in fact could be all of these factors. And yet actually have nothing to do with any known understood or believable reason!

Pets cannot ever be just a simple cheap alternative or replacement for children or a person. And pets can only ever, and will always be, just a second place in your heart and in your honesty. When you walk your dog what are you actually doing? Is that really a cry for help? A cry for attention? Is the sadness you feel deep inside you being covered by hoping your dog will attract and distract your true feelings?

True, you can talk to a pet and it doesn’t interrupt or answer back or even doubt you, but if you don’t need answers why do you need to ask the question? If it doesn’t matter if you are right or wrong or if you know or don’t know, why do you need to talk in the first place?

If you are in a relationship and you need a pet zone to replace a child zone, or need a love between partners, then you are probably in the wrong relationship. A wrong relationship is one with a non-meaningful, empty life, enveloped with unhappiness and pain.

Life is not and can never be a complete rehearsal! So you need to use it wisely and make the best of the time, especially your own time, which is the only one completely available to you. Your life should be long, healthy, happy and exciting!

You can always appear to listen, but can you accept and understand what you actually hear?

If you want to keep a secret then keep it to yourself! And you should never tell it to anyone else! A secret will probably never mean or be the same to anyone else! A secret may be good to you, but could be bad and disruptive to someone else!

Never give a secret away cheaply; any secret will only be worth what it costs to give away. A cheap secret is bought and sold cheaply and has no value, and can mean nothing to the person who is receiving and taking it.

You can never just delete a bad day or a bad happening from your life. So don’t waste time trying - you should come to terms and accept the fact and deal with it in your own way.

The only real honest true and best friend you can ever have is in fact actually yourself. The only person who can totally and completely understand you, is quite simply yourself.

Patience is a very big part of being able to really understand. By being able to be understanding you can also be extremely patience and tolerant.

Perhaps you would actually prefer to talk and communicate to a person who would appear more impressed by what you say.

Looking into someone’s eyes can and should be a wonderful experience for me and a very fond memory. But that could depend on the eye colour and the internal depth.

My lips are often silent and simply sealed and are just waiting for a kiss from you so they can slip open and speak.

If you ever give anything you have to a person, you should give it totally free and never expect any return! And then you will never be dismayed or disappointed. You will always be disappointed if you can only give more or less than you receive.

If you want to stop someone who is talking and boring, just display a yawn or two.

Before you marry you should listen carefully and keep both of your eyes open. After marriage you should listen very carefully and keep one eye shut.

Unjustly obtained wealth is just like having virgin snow splashed with hot water.

Happy is probably the person who learns and gains from the misfortunes of others, but may only be a shallow person and never a permanent feeling.

The only person you can ever totally trust is the person who would, if the situation arose, without question sacrifice their life to protect yours.

Trying to obtain everything, especially something you are not in fact truly entitled to, can mean you will often obtain nothing, especially and including happiness.

Behind every argument probably lays someone’s ignorance, their lack of knowledge, their lack of experience and their lack of understanding! The only way to start to win and get the best of any argument is to avoid it in the first place.

Never start an argument unless you know the right way to end it! And ensure the reason can be justified by the meaning! An argument usually starts by one person using reasoning which has nothing to do with the real issue that is identified and comes later!

The one who actually understands listens but does not speak. The one who speaks actually does not listen or even understand.

The surest way to be able to predict a suitable and viable future is to create it yourself.

Everlasting true friendship is just one mind in two different bodies that can exist in total harmony.

Because we were gifted with two ears but only one tongue, this probably means we should actually listen twice as much as we speak.

The truly rich and happy are those who can actually enjoy and accept what they already have and don’t feel the need for any more.

The clothes may dress and disguise a fool and disguise them well, but their voice, their eyes and their actions will give them away.

Human beings are unpredictable in a predictable way, because they tend to copy what they have already seen and they never consider that others have seen it too.

Your eyes will always disclose your true feelings and they will show if you have a genuine love, a genuine kiss or a hug available and ready. Your eyes will always tell if the love or kindness you have available and ready to give is very true or very false. Your body language might not betray you, but your eyes always will.

Your own memories and your own beliefs will always mean more to you than to anyone else.

A person may ask a question which they already know the answer to, but they need confirmation to actually believe and accept that it is correct.

Don’t expect or force your children to be an exact copy of yourself otherwise they will be copying, illustrating and living your mistakes.

If you can actually understand the present you can also understand the past and live in the future.

If you can’t be happy with yourself you will be jealous and hateful when others are being happy in front of you.

You cannot blame others for their failings or problems when you yourself may have been the cause in the first place.

When you can see dark shadows or ghosts in front of you, the very same dark shadows and ghosts can also be around and behind you. If a person cannot understand what you are saying, don’t make them out to be idiots and discount them, use your own ability to talk in a way and on a level they can truly understand and respond to.

When standing and looking forward, your left hand is the past, your head is the present, and your right hand is future. This is probably the opposite if left-handed. Your master eye might not be on the same side as your master hand, so you may have to be universal and able to cross over and interact.

Only identify and try to climb the mountain when you have actually reached and understood it and not before. Do not live the time or be in the time before you actually reach it, don’t invent time so you can hide or waste it.

You should always be ready to accept that your feelings are just your own, so don’t expect others to be understanding and helpful or even have the same feelings.

Mixed feelings can be just as confusing to you as they can be to others.

If your head is loitering in a cloud it probably means you cannot see, be aware or notice anything happening around you. You might never see what bumps into you and knocks you over, but you will certainly feel it.

You will find you can always clearly hear and understand what you say, even if no one else can.

You can probably see and talk in all directions, but you can actually only walk forwards and backwards or sideways in one direction.

Your actual understanding can usually only be based on your own knowledge and experience.

You can always ask, tell or demand the world to hurry and wake up, and then give it a good shake, but could you keep up and stay in front?

Your dreams are usually about a good experience which has already happened, and not about something you are looking forward to happening.

Your nightmares are usually about a bad experience which has already happened, and you can be frightened about the same happening again.

Don’t always speak your mind unless you are prepared to and can cope with the possible dark consequences.

A tidy mind can be far more busy and productive than a chaotic mind!

Say what you honestly feel, but be aware you may only help yourself, and you could and may cause harm and stress to others!

At certain times it can be more sensible to hide your feelings rather than speaking out loud!

A burning tongue can be difficult to extinguish!

Your blushes can give more away than you can see!

It can be extremely easy to tarnish and cause blemishes to everything that is always around you.

If you are ever in doubt always say so, be supportive and explain why. And give the reason.

A suspicious, unspoken, festering doubt can be an everlasting flame of intent and never be very useful to anybody.

Always be honest and ensure you know and understand the exact meaning of what you say. If you know or find out what you say is wrong then always be honest, open and apologise.

If you need to be forceful do so in an honest and elegant manner, as there can always be serious consequences and reaction to a bully’s attitude.

Crucial is an important word in your life. Every minute of your life is a crucial minute; every day can be a crucial day. Every person you meet can be a crucial person. Every decision can be a crucial decision.

Whatever you say or announce today will be history which can be remembered or forgotten by tomorrow.

We can all make our own history, so don’t let others make it for you. Others will always think theirs is better than yours and will try to prove that fact and impose and overwrite their history on yours.

Your love, if genuine and honest, will fill all the spare and available vacant and empty places past and present you may have in your heart.

Your kisses, if false, will just fall and be lost like petals blowing and scattering in the silent wind.

The kisses you give with your eyelashes are like the vibrant wings of a passing butterfly silently and smoothly brushing my skin and attracting my desire.

Love can be so very demanding at times; it can suffocate your heart, and drown out your mind and your true feelings.

Your mouth can speak many false words and promises, but your eyes will always show and reflect your true feelings.

Your eyes can only look in the same direction as your mouth if what you say is true, honest and believable.

If something can go by without actually saying then just let it pass by.

Never believe you need to always say what you actually feel, saying only a part of what you feel can sometimes be far more productive than the entirety.

If something doesn’t need to be said, then don’t say it.

Sometimes you can convey what you feel by body language more than words. A body picture can be more understanding, more meaningful and more beautiful than a thousand words spoken or even written.

Just a tiny twinkle in your eyes can be worth far more than twenty or more spoken or written words.

Spoken or completely displaced words can do more damage and hurt than any hard slap or punch ever can.

You can become and appear more foolish and aggressive when your tongue is moving far quicker than your brain can work and keep up.

Always remember to listen carefully and understand completely before you speak, and ensure the words you speak can be understood and be productive to others rather than harmful.

If your speech is fuelled by anger it will probably be the speech you will always remember saying, and can be a speech you wish you and others could always forget.

Always wait and pause with clear thoughts before you say what you are thinking. Only say what you are thinking when your thoughts are clear.

Your thoughts can be important to you, but your thoughts put into spoken words can be harmful and distasteful for others to receive and understand.

You can always take back your words, always bite your lip, but you cannot always repair or take back the hurt or the damage your words may cause others.

A single word or a single sentence can have so many different meanings to so many different people. The single wrong word, can easily corrupt, and change the direction, as well as the intended meaning of a simple sentence.

The biggest mistake you will probably make is when you make a compromise.

You can always change your mind about a person.

The best lies can be based on the truth.

There can be times when a lie can be your best defence.

Always be yourself, always be the one who chooses the direction you wish to go and be the one who sets the terms.

2. General Chatter: My Brain

Every living person is totally different in every way, especially the brain. Everyone has their own footprint and we can have good people and bad people.

We talk about the criminal mind but never talk about the criminal brain; yet it is the body part that actually controls your mind as well as your physical activity.

One person’s brain could be useful to others, another person’s brain could be dangerous to others. Always remember we don’t yet have a brain transplant system, but there again they are working on a head transplant at the moment. Not too sure if that will be a good thing! Mind you, I wouldn’t mind having my head, including my brain, transferred onto the body of a twenty-five year old! It would be like starting again but I would have some fifty years of knowledge and personal experience already installed! I wonder if I would make the same mistakes all over again!

I am told by the good consultants that as a person my level of competence, as well as my physical ability as a human being, should actually be at a reduced level - probably as much as fifty percent compared to the person who existed before my accident! However, it was also said that my fifty percent was probably well in excess of most persons one hundred percent, and my actual visual appearance does not tick the correct box for damaged goods, and as such can be totally confusing to not just the medical profession but to the normal persons who may enter my space.

When a different person is damaged, then the worry and the shame can be replaced by fear. You are not really worried about the everyday happenings around you, but you become fearful as you have lost control. If the damage is very severe you don’t worry that you cannot return and become the completely same person ever again

Sometimes sound can populate my brain so much that I become disoriented and totally confused with what is going on in the world around my body, especially if I cannot locate or see where the sound is coming from. At times it can be very difficult to control the fire burning in my brain!

Are we ever born with a mind full of instructions on how to be different, how the differential works, I wonder?

My very unusual dilemma is that my brain can have access to the outside world in two main ways - the visual channel and the sound channel. The visual is by the eyes and the sound is by the ears. We each have, or should have, two eyes and two ears, but they don’t necessarily act or work together, nor are they actually pairs - they can be connected and operate in two different ways. You usually find one eye is slightly stronger than the other, hence one is called the master eye. You might think that if you are right-handed your master eye is your right eye as it’s the same side, but in my case I am mainly right-handed but my left eye is my master eye! You can quite easily find out which is your master eye. Because of mine being different to the norm, I found with target shooting I would tend to hold a pistol with my right hand but