adu&nw2g

[ronny0]

SORRY for the confusion, but for YEARS I have been trying to share with my friends the phrase of adu&nw2g....
For me it explains the desire to get dressed up, but also the fear or lack of choices to go out in public dressed...
I wish ever so much that the world was a place where people could just be people w/o having to fill the needs of others to fit onto what they consider as the norm...
OK, that being said......................
Today with Covid, and the ability to cover more than 50% of our face, we can actually go out in public and hide who we were a few minutes ago.
Not that the public will always accept who we want to present as, still if we keep on the move we might be able to get through the day w/o many problems.
I now live in a relatively small community, such that I have to be careful how I go out.
Ya go to the Post office, then drive to Walmart and you see the same people that were at the post office.
Not a big enough town that you can hide much of anything...
Still I wish I had the courage to go out All Dressed Up (even if I Had) no where 2 go.
My Love ti ALL, and stay safe!

[Helen_Highwater]

For those like me for whom it took a while for the penny to drop, adu&nw2g is "All dressed up and no where to go".

Ronny,

It's a problem faced by a good few here. Either like you they live in a small everyone knows everyone community or those little gremlins sitting on their shoulder whispering that the mob will get them if they so much as open the door fills them with dread.

For you I guess the standard advice is travel out of town. It's what I do and it's provided me with much welcomed relief over the years.

Masks do help but out food shopping in drab the other day, mask on, didn't stop someone I know from recognising me. Okay, dressed, makeup, wig on moves the goal posts but I suspect they're not a magic panacea

I hope you find a solution and get to enjoy time out and about..

[GretchenM]

I agree with Helen in that a mask does not disguise you from people who "know" you. I often go to the same grocery store and have for years. Employees I have seen and talked to on a regular basis over a couple of decades recognize me straight away and I recognize them. It is like the mask isn't even there. But I have to admit for people you may have seen a couple of times look with a wondering expression of "Do I know that person or not?"

Goes to show that we recognize people by more than just the complete face. Eyes, hair, the general form of their body, the way they walk or stand, etc. All of that factors into our ability to recognize a person. A while back I ran into a person I hadn't seen in almost 50 years and even with masks on we both noticed a familiarity. We worked together almost everyday for nearly a year and became friends and then went our separate ways. Goes to show how dependent we are on vision and that the brain can reconstruct enough from old memories that have not been accessed for half a century and produce a recognition. Amazing, absolutely amazing!!

[Stephanie47]

And, if you're trying to fly under the radar it is not just the basic physical features of the person. It is also the car a person drives. Everyone on my end of the block where I live knows what car a person drives. Even under the cloak of darkness someone may notice a woman was driving so and so's pickup truck. I can get in my Corolla with the bad paint job unnoticed and then be seen by a neighbor down the block.

[phili]

I encourage you to start serious recon of your town- look around carefully for the people who are a little different and how people treat them, when chips are down. Look for women who are masculine and men that are feminine and study what is going on around them. I'll bet you a beer at the local cowboy bar you could be there adu and as long as you were friendly and nice- and everythign WYSIWYG , and not triggering anyone by acting sexy, the cowboys would protect you from any drunken oafs.

And then, you can just be you from then on.

[Joyce Swindell]

Thank you...IHNI....(I had no idea)

[Jean 103]

I think the mask thing sucks, besides being stupid. I could explain but not aloud by the rules.

You are right It is entirely you. You are the one holding you back.

If you want it to remain a secret than you shouldn't go out at all.

On the flip if you don't care, yes people will remember you, you will make friends. At this point is were I pulled the plug and came out.

A small town can be a hard place to hide something like this.

[ronny0]

Oh My Gosh.......
On a whim, I did a internet search for adu&nw2g, and it returned this thread....
SO, I am forever linked to this comment.................
So much for trying to hide my addiction :-)
Might be a good thing, who really knows what Tomorrow Will Bring.
Best wishes to all.

[CarlaWestin]

and not triggering anyone by acting sexy, the cowboys would protect you from any drunken oafs.

Oh boy. Hmmmm. Well, you've seen some of my outfits. I'm afraid that after a couple of drinks I might hear, "YEE HA. It's rodeo time."
Not that there's anything wrong with that.

:straightface:

[mbmeen12]

In my professional vocation, when writing proper Department of Defense (DoD) memo for records, when using acronyms you spell it out fully followed by the shorted letters in parentheses... once. Maybe start a thread, just for that...It would be lots of fun and future use for references...