My name is Terry Mansfield, and I was born in a doctor’s office on June 28th, 1951 in the town of Rolla, Missouri, USA. Not long after my birth, my parents Elvin and Lillian moved to St. Louis, a city that sits next to the Mississippi River, and which is a much larger place than Rolla. I grew up in St. Louis and, as almost all St. Louisans do, became a lifelong fan of the local major league baseball team, the St. Louis Cardinals. Go Redbirds!

My family was always poor while I was growing up, scratching as best they could to keep me and my five sisters fed, clothed, and with a roof over our heads. Nonetheless, they gave us all their love and were our biggest cheerleaders. Mom made it through two years of high school before getting married and having me, and Dad only got to third grade. However, he was a master car mechanic, especially in the old, mechanical engine days. He was the best. My dad passed away about 25 years ago, but my mom is still very much alive and kicking, I’m happy to report, having celebrated her 87th birthday this year. …

“Reciprocity is a deep instinct; it is the basic currency of social life.”

— Jonathan Haid

“In social psychology, reciprocity is a social norm of responding to a positive action with another positive action, rewarding kind actions. As a social construct, reciprocity means that in response to friendly actions, people are frequently much nicer and much more cooperative than predicted by the self-interest model; conversely, in response to hostile actions they are frequently much more nasty and even brutal. Reciprocity makes it possible to build continuing relationships and exchanges.”

— Wikipedia

Here’s what Mark Kelly said to me:

“Hi Terry, thanks for following me on Medium. Just had a quick query re your own presence there. Do you have some magic techniques up your sleeve? Just noticed that on the days you clap for my pieces my stats see an exaggerated spike. A Medium friend of mine has noticed the same. All the best, Mark Kelly.” …

1. Guaranteed

There’s nothing in life

that’s guaranteed except for

only one thing — death.

2. Light Them Up

You’ll light up someone’s

life if you compliment them.

So do it a lot.

3. Crayons

Children love crayons

to draw and make colorful

drawings of the world

as they imagine it is.

Adults need crayons.

4. Admit It

Often it’s so hard

to admit a mistake you’ve

made and then move on.

5. Wicked People

The world has far too

many wicked people in

it. Let’s round them up

and banish them to Wicked

Island, where they all belong.

6. Watching…

A man in a bar

was hanging all over me.

I asked him, what’s your sign? He

said Leo; yours? — Mine is STOP.

__________________

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If you stay calm in

battle, when everyone else

is losing their heads, then you

must have the most skillful blade.

__________________

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When I was a kid
I would stare at my hands and
think, these are weird looking things,
as though they belonged to an
alien creature, not me.

__________________

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They

found a

tuber inside him,

filling him with dread.

He feared now his friends

would call him Mr. Potato Head.

__________________

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