For some reason that phrase came to mind – so, of course, I Googled it to find that it was really Don’t Switch Horses in Midstream and came from an 1864 speech by Abraham Lincoln, in reply to Delegation from the National Union League who were urging him to be their presidential candidate. ‘An old Dutch farmer, who remarked to a companion once that it was not best to swap horses when crossing streams.”
Why did that phrase come to mind? It seems that I have switched, changed courses in some ways. Strangely enough getting off Instagram was one. Ashley at Presidio Sports Medicine put it beautifully.
She: It is refreshing to be no longer tied to Instagram.
Me: Yes! A perfect way to put it.
She: You wake up and look to see how many likes you got. And you keep checking all day long.
Me: Yes! You seem to start measuring your self worth based on the number of likes you get.
She: It becomes an addiction.
Me: You are so right! It feels so free to be free of it.
Then the other change, the other transformation is to be with a man who expresses his affection in a more direct fashion – more directly than poetry. With the poetry one does not know who is the recipient of the romantic thoughts as the poems are circulated on social media. But when affection is expressed in person and directly – you clearly know it is meant for you. There is no one else in the room, so it has to be you. There are more direct ways of expressing this thought but it seems rather indelicate. Again a perfect word meaning vulgar, coarse, rude, gross, crude, bawdy, racy, risqué, ribald, Rabelaisian, earthy, indecent, improper, indecorous, unseemly, unrefined, off colour, obscene, dirty, filthy, impure, smutty, lewd, salacious, raw, lascivious, licentious; informal blue, naughty, near the knuckle/bone, nudge-nudge, raunchy.
Perhaps it would not be too bawdy or unseemly to say more directly that when one is being enthusiastically embraced you know that you are the object of that man’s affection, But when the embrace is over, how can you know that he still cares? I guess if he comes back and embraces you enthusiastically again and again you can assume that he cares. It is also most flattering when the man is almost indecently young.
Instagram is different from this blog as I do not look for or receive ‘likes’ or feedback – on purpose. However it was unbelievably gratifying to learn that there were 5400 new readers in one month. All rather mind boggling. I do not really write for other people – I write for myself.
But I do admit that a secret reason for writing the blog was to make a man fall in love with me by reading the blog. I do so love CPI’s response to that;
CPI: Alexis, you over did it.
Me: You are absolutely right, I did.
Not only that but I do know that some men having experienced a thwarted relationship with Alexis McBride continue to read alexismcbride.com. What are synonyms of thwarted:
frustrate, baulk, stand in the way of, forestall; scotch, derail, smash, dash; stop, check, block, prevent, defeat, impede, obstruct, snooker, oppose, hinder, hamper; upset the apple cart, spike someone’s guns; informal put paid to, put the stopper on, put the kibosh on, do for, stymie, cook someone’s goose; British informal scupper, put the mockers on, nobble, queer someone’s pitch; Australian/NZ & Irish vulgar slang root; archaic traverse. ANTONYMS assist, facilitate.
Faithful readers will know that I got in a pickle because I verbally volunteered to be the London wife of a Sultan, who I found out later was the Crown Prince of Dubai. I read him the blog where I promised to take on that obligation. But looking back on it now, perhaps I should have volunteered to be the seventh wife of the Ruler of Dubai. He is more age appropriate – he is younger than me but not by much. He is getting a divorce from Number 6 so perhaps I could move into the sixth position. I met his first wife when in London and we quite got along. There would need to be translators as I do not speak Arabic and she does not speak English – but I am sure that could be arranged. I do have a wicked sense of humour and I sass – that cannot be denied,
Today is a short blog because I am feeling lazy. The photograph is art hanging on the wall of my apartment. At this exact moment I cannot recall the name of the artist – a tremendously talented Metis man who lives in Vancouver. He is on Instagram but I am not anymore.
