Ten Ways to Make an Old Geezer Disappear

© 2004 copyright Raymond C. Evans

1 When you tell him, “that he should clean the garage”.

2 “It would be a good day to paint the kitchen”.

3 “Do the barbeque for the ladies club”.

4 “A good day to clean the sink drain”.

5 “It’s about time to make a dental appointment”.

6 “A good day for housecleaning”.

7 “You want him to go clothes shopping with you”.

8 “He should help organize the family photographs”.

9 “It’s time to plant the bulbs”.

10 “The leaves are piling up on the driveway”.

These are the things that most old geezers dislike; I don’t think very many doctors can help with this one. If your old geezer shows any of these signs, you’ll most likely need the help of a psychiatrist or something like that. Most psychiatrists can figure out the “root” problems for his behavior, given enough time to study the case and if they can actually find his brain so as to make repairs.

His trauma may go back to when his mother asked his father to do some simple chore, for example, causing his father to disappear and never come back. The trauma may have happened when he was a small child and had to sit with his mother through a “ladies club” meeting. Anyone should be able to understand how that kind of abuse could cause extreme trauma in a young boy.

Nine out of ten people who have studied this extensively, decided there really wasn’t very much hope for change. The tenth, (Dr. Phil) might come to the conclusion that it’s most likely your fault anyway, because more than likely you have just spoiled him. Dr. Phil might say that “you teach people how to treat you”, and go on to say, “You just have not trained him in the right way”. He might say, “You were not put on this earth just to be a geezer pleaser”.

He usually says that these kinds of things should be negotiated. Perhaps you could give him back his comic books in exchange for some simple chore, his marbles for something more difficult. Or you can give him back his toy dump truck for an even more time consuming chore.

Sometimes positive reinforcement helps, when he seems to be extra willing to do a chore, just pat him on the head a couple of times and say, “good boy, good boy”.

Above all else, don’t think you always have to be a “geezer pleaser”.