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.”
“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.”
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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These are my most popular pieces, with thousands of Reads:
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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Why are you behaving so
childishly? / “I’m just
being me.” / Maybe you
should be someone else.
__________________
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These are my most popular pieces, with thousands of Reads:
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