Fifty Plus (50+) - OT: Your most embarrassing moment

So I was watching American Idol tonight, and each contestant had to tell their most embarrassing moment.

You know, that moment that happened 20 years ago but still makes you want to scream into your pillow when you think about it?

I'll start.

I called John Lee Hooker "Johnny Lee". :eek:

No one wants to play, eh? Chickens. I'll do one more before I give up....

When I was in first grade a boy lifted up my dress, and I had forgotten to wear underwear. I thought* the desk seat felt funny, but didn't know why that was....

nn

No one wants to play, eh? Chickens. I'll do one more before I give up....

When I was in first grade a boy lifted up my dress, and I had forgotten to wear underwear. I thought* the desk seat felt funny, but didn't know why that was....

Mine is similar.... in 4th grade I walked all the way to the front of the class from the back.... with the hem of the back of my skirt caught in the waistband. :eek: :o :cry:

Ok....I'll play.

When I was in high school we held pep rallies before the basketball games. I forgot the tights to my outfit and had to borrow a pair of the boy's basketball pants from the coach. He evidently didn't tell the boys who needed the pants. During the pep rally after I did a cartwheel one of the players stood up and shouted "Beverly was the one who forgot her pants":o:

My girls came through for me. They did not leave me hanging!

For that, here's one more!

Prom, 1978. In an era of big hair, my hair was the biggest. We went to a fancy restaurant, at the top of a hotel downtown Minneapolis. I don't remember what we ordered, but it was flambeau. I was laughing and talking, so the "flambeau" part took my surprise and and I startled. My hair caught on fire.

It just singed, but it singed bad, and the smell was unbelievable.

My version (the truth):
After locking the shop door -and forgetting to reset the alarm- I donned my helmet
under the awning, zipped up my jacket, fished out my key, put the gloves on
and dashed out into the dark, rainy night.....

The cop's version:
Arriving on the scene -after dispatch informed us of an alarm- we saw the suspect,
clad in a black leather jacket, jeans, full-face helmet and wearing gloves,
fleeing the motorcycle shop on foot.


The frighteningly embarrassing part:
The cop car slid to wet stop, just like in the movies, and both of the uniformed cops
flung their doors open and, crouching for cover behind the open doors of the cruiser,
.38 service pistols leveled at my heart, yelled,"FREEZE".

After my partner arrived and verified that I was who I said I was,
and I did what I said I did, I was allowed to continue home.

So I was watching American Idol tonight, and each contestant had to tell their most embarrassing moment.

You know, that moment that happened 20 years ago but still makes you want to scream into your pillow when you think about it?

I'll start.

I called John Lee Hooker "Johnny Lee". :eek:

FYI George Benson had a daughter and because he was inspired by John Lee Hooker, he named her Johnny Lee. So you could say you were talking about George Bensons daughter.
PEte

So I was watching American Idol tonight, and each contestant had to tell their most embarrassing moment.

You know, that moment that happened 20 years ago but still makes you want to scream into your pillow when you think about it?

I'll start.

I called John Lee Hooker "Johnny Lee". :eek:

That's your most embarrassing moment? :rolleyes:

In college asking someone why they kept referring to George Sand as "she." There are some from high school that I will never tell anyone :o

So, anyone else have an embarrassing Hooker story?

That's your most embarrassing moment? :rolleyes:

He wasn't very friendly to begin with. And I was stuck with him in a basement for 2 hours afterwards. The look he gave me was scathing, and the looks on everyone else's face were...painful.

Now I'm going to go scream in my pillow.

I've never been embarassed.

While working as a soccer ref in an indoor game (carpet over ice rink...no ice) I was backing up as the flow of play came toward me........whoops, tripped, started leaning over backwards farther and farther while my short little legs tried to keep up..........splat.

The only thing to do was get up, turn red and bow the the crowd in the stands. Laughter turned to applause. It would appear that its ok to make a fool of yourself if you do it gracefully.

Actually, maddmaxx, you're right. There is probably a strong correlation between being embarrassed with how much you want to be taken seriously at the moment.

Farting at home in front of the TV with friends is just not the same thing as farting at the podium of the PTA while giving a passionate speech about school lunches.

When I was a kid my friends cute older brother was showing off his new turntable and albums.

I leaned over it to get a closer look and drooled on the spinning record...haha

The cop's version:
Arriving on the scene -after dispatch informed us of an alarm- we saw the suspect,
clad in a black leather jacket, jeans, full-face helmet and wearing gloves,
fleeing the motorcycle shop on foot.


The frighteningly embarrassing part:
The cop car slid to wet stop, just like in the movies, and both of the uniformed cops
flung their doors open and, crouching for cover behind the open doors of the cruiser,
.38 service pistols leveled at my heart, yelled,"FREEZE".


After getting very drunk at a bar and running out of money, my friend and I went back in to the gas station where we worked to get more cash. We set off the silent alarm and in no time we had shotguns, handguns, unmarked units and even a helocopter outside!! The cops were very professional, and after seeing the two drunken fools in gas station uniforms, they just left.

So, anyone else have an embarrassing Hooker story?

Yes.

I was doing a public presentation and wearing a wireless lapel microphone. We took a break, I went to the restroom, but forgot to take the micropone off or turn it off. Upon returning the person who introduced me asked, "How much coffee did you drink this morning?"

Most Embarrassing Moment. Last night I watched a few minutes of "American Idol". There I said it!

Just because embarrassment is the bedrock of reality TV, does not mean that we should have to submit ourselves. Or are you offering a million dollar prize and a big recording contract?

No one wants to play, eh? Chickens.

Not chicken, but I do have a constitutional right to not be compelled to embarrass myself by others. :D

Don't we embarrass ourselves enough here on a day by day basis?

I wrote a masters thesis (psychology major) on embarrassment. I looked at the phenomenology on the constituents of embarrassment (that's how you have to say it when you write a thesis). Basically, I was trying to learn what the common thread in the experience of embarrassment is among people. To do the research, I had to get lots and lots of people to write down, in as much detail as they could, their experience of an embarrassing moment. What great stories!

Now, this was thirty years ago, so I don't remember too much of the results. I think there were about four things we all seem to have in common when we feel embarrassed, and they are:

1. Increased vasodilation (in other words, turning red in the face)
2. An abrupt change in focus from the external world to the self
3. An arousal of a desire to flee, hide, disappear, and
4. An immediate and dramatic (temporary) loss of self esteem.

My research also suggested, but was unable to prove with any vigor that our sense of time gets distorted. The embarrassing moment seems to last a LOT longer than it really does.

I realize these all sound intuitive, but I was actually more interested in learning the research method than about embarrassment itself. It was a research style that came from a guy who's name now escapes me, who was trying to unpack what it means when we have the feeling of being understood. What, exactly, does that mean, he wondered? So he created a whole methodology of research that I wanted to replicate.

I have dozens of stories of embarrassing moments. The favorite that I witnessed, (and didn't actually do, thank goodness) occurred in a HUGE university dining hall. A coed entered the main room with a tray full of food, tripped, and did a belly slam on the floor. The sudden silence was deafening as everyone stopped mid-sentence or mid-bite to look at her and see what happened!

Her recovery was a classic example of grace under pressure. She picked up the tray, took a long look at the literally couple of hundred people staring at her, and did a curtsy. The room erupted into applause. :D

Most Embarrassing Moment. Last night I watched a few minutes of "American Idol". There I said it!

There is nothing* on TV. I'm recovering from pneumonia. American Idol is the highlight of my stupified evenings right now....

But actually, I kinda like it. I liked it better when people weren't so good and forgot words. Then you really felt like it was live TV and anything could happen. But I usually forget about after a few weeks. This year I'm tivoing it. Because there's nothing else on!!!!

The little league basketball playoffs:

I was a benchwarmer but the coach wanted me to see some court time in front of my folks.
He said "go substitute for Alvin". Now I didn't know all the guys' names but I thought I knew who Alvin was - he was the guy getting ready for a free throw so I ran out to the line and tapped him on the shoulder ready to take his shot for him. The coach yelled "no not Arlyn - Alvin!!" The entire gymnasium broke out in laughter. Man did I feel dorky... also I had the dorkiest cutoff jean shorts while everybody else had cool basketball shorts.

All my hooker stories have happy endings.

There is nothing* on TV. I'm recovering from pneumonia. American Idol is the highlight of my stupified evenings right now....

I went to the library and got some DVDs. I'm enjoying Invader Zim.

http://animated-views.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/invaderzim1.jpg

Growing up in the country outside a small town in North Central Texas everyone must know that football rules. I was a band member and freshman at the time and yes the freshman were required to wear beanies on Fridays, attend the pep rally and ride at the front of the Greyhound bus as we would travel to from small town to small town for games.

There was a particularly attractive young lady who was a Senior. She asked me if I would like to sit next to her for the two hour ride home after a game. I was besides myself and gleefully shared my triumph with Jimmy Don and Billy Fred (yes that really is their names). I got to sit at the back of the bus, with a Senior and a cute Senior Girl no less! The joy and excitement was more than I could handle.

I sat next to the window and we talked and laughed and I got teased by the other Seniors for a while. She said she was tired and laid a pillow in my lap to put her head on to fall asleep.

Some time later I was awoken to the screams of: Ooooh! Oooooh! Oooooh!

You see, I too had fallen asleep sitting up.

Unfortunately, I had drooled in her ear! Things were just never the same and I carry the embarrassment and shame to this day!

He wasn't very friendly to begin with. And I was stuck with him in a basement for 2 hours afterwards. The look he gave me was scathing, and the looks on everyone else's face were...painful.

Now I'm going to go scream in my pillow.

I still don't get it. Why were you stuck in a basement for 2 hours with John Lee Hooker and how did it happen that you called him "Johnny Lee"?

My Bike riding embarrassing moment was a few weeks ago. On my Sat morning ride I was stopped at a fairly busy intersection waiting for the lights. I unclipped my right foot only and stayed on the saddle. After a few moments the bike started leaning to the left. I was determined not to go down in front of the stopped cars and fortunately I managed to do a sort of a bunny hop to the left and regain balance, the people in the cars around me were giving me strange looks.

Some time later I was awoken to the screams of: Ooooh! Oooooh! Oooooh!

You see, I too had fallen asleep sitting up.

Unfortunately, I had drooled in her ear! Things were just never the same and I carry the embarrassment and shame to this day!


I feel so...connected to you now. We both share embarrassing stories featuring drool... :p

What is this............embarrassing stories or the 50+ home......?:):)

Where do I begin...

Many, many, many, years ago, actually I forget how many many's it should be. We had a drunken party...a really good, pig roasting, neighbors won't talk to you for months party...we were young then... :D I had a fondness for hugging my lovely wife from behind while she did dishes and any chance I could get away with it copping a feel.
:o lots of very small children in a very small house = very few chances for fun.
Sooooooo I walked into the kitchen that evening and hugged and copped a feel off my brother in laws girlfriend, :eek: who was standing at the sink doing dishes and flanked by and talking to my wife and the brother in law who were to say the least shocked and still won't let me hear the end of it... even though I was ruled innocent by reason of drunken stupidity.

PS; I worked with the young lady the brother in law was dating and she wasn't the least put off or angry with me, we are still friends to this day. And share a chuckle when the subject gets brought up.

I still don't get it. Why were you stuck in a basement for 2 hours with John Lee Hooker and how did it happen that you called him "Johnny Lee"?

Oh, I was in my 20's and studying in the basement of a (bar?) where all the band members were waiting before they went up to play on stage. I had a boyfriend who was a musician and playing the same gig, and I was sick of trying to juggle studying and seeing him. So I used to go with, study for a while, and then grab a drink and catch some tunes, at least when they were playing in town... it was hard to find time to see him.

Anyway, I don't remember why I said his name. I remember the couch he was sitting on, with friends of his on each side. I remember him looking at us like we made the room crowded. I don't remember him saying a word to anyone the whole time, besides to turn his head and say something quietly to someone to send them to do something. He never laughed.

I don't remember why I actually called him by his full name. I only remember the moment after. It must have been during the introduction phase, since he didn't converse the rest of the two hours. If I had to guess, he was introduced as "John" and I said his full name showing that I knew who he was?

Quite a few years ago I was at a Christmas party with my wife. Music was playing and there were a good number of people there. I was a restaurant manager. One of my employees came up between songs and asked me to dance. I looked at my wife and she said okay(she's almost always a good sport). We get to the dance floor and a slow dance started. Mind you, I'm a terrible dancer. She just put her arms around me and started grinding her hips into mine. I was trying to be polite and not just walk away so I tried to put some distance between us. But she would have nothing of the sort.:eek: I saw my wife staring at me and she came rushing over and cut in. My wife kept herself almost attached to me the rest of the night.

There is nothing* on TV. I'm recovering from pneumonia.

And how are you doing at that?

I have to take a nap every afternoon. And I'm not getting things done in time to go to Kansas. I'm going to have to postpone my departure by a week. I just can't get more done in a day than I have* to.

Remembering my youth, and how I burned the candle at both ends so easily shames me now. Even at normal energy levels, 8 pm is time to wind down for bedtime...walk the dogs, make a phone call, get in jammies. It used to be 8pm was when I was deciding what to do that night.

Oh, and a friend dropped over the first two seasons of Battlestar Gallactica, which I've never seen, so maybe that will be good.

Get well Solveg!

Oh, I was in my 20's and studying in the basement of a (bar?) where all the band members were waiting before they went up to play on stage. I had a boyfriend who was a musician and playing the same gig, and I was sick of trying to juggle studying and seeing him. So I used to go with, study for a while, and then grab a drink and catch some tunes, at least when they were playing in town... it was hard to find time to see him.

Anyway, I don't remember why I said his name. I remember the couch he was sitting on, with friends of his on each side. I remember him looking at us like we made the room crowded. I don't remember him saying a word to anyone the whole time, besides to turn his head and say something quietly to someone to send them to do something. He never laughed.

I don't remember why I actually called him by his full name. I only remember the moment after. It must have been during the introduction phase, since he didn't converse the rest of the two hours. If I had to guess, he was introduced as "John" and I said his full name showing that I knew who he was?

This guy sounds like a big jerk. I say "fahgeddabuddit".

I have to take a nap every afternoon.

Yeah me too. But I can't blame phneumonia. :

My goal is a 20-min. power-nap every day. Unfortunately, reality doesn't always allow for my naps. :mad:
ic
When I do get my naps, I feel like I'm indomitable. Thus my goal. I like that feeling -- I get it when I have a kick-*ss ride. And that's the ultimate goal -- a kick-*ss ride. If I can't get that, I'll take a nap.

Call me old, I don't care...:D

I was doing a public presentation and wearing a wireless lapel microphone. We took a break, I went to the restroom, but forgot to take the micropone off or turn it off. Upon returning the person who introduced me asked, "How much coffee did you drink this morning?"

Poor you!!!! :o:o:o (But that's pretty funny!!)

This guy sounds like a big jerk. I say "fahgeddabuddit".

No, it wasn't like he was a big jerk... he was just in Minneapolis in a basement with a bunch of 20 year olds who apparently didn't realize his legendary status. He just bided the time until he was on stage, like I'm sure he did most nights of the year. Minneapolis is not really a hotbed of blues.

Actually, most blues musicians I've met have been on the introverted/surly side.

Jazz musicians were generally friendly, and really smart about a lot of different things and great conversationalists. I never could understand jazz, but I always liked jazz musicians.

Classical run the gamut... viola players the friendliest because they had absolutely NO ego! (I played the viola...:)).

Punk musicians were almost consistently friendly.

Rock... oblivious to the world and self-absorbed.

Just my opinions....from my limited exposure.

Yeah me too. But I can't blame phneumonia. :

My goal is a 20-min. power-nap every day. Unfortunately, reality doesn't always allow for my naps. :mad:
ic
When I do get my naps, I feel like I'm indomitable. Thus my goal. I like that feeling -- I get it when I have a kick-*ss ride. And that's the ultimate goal -- a kick-*ss ride. If I can't get that, I'll take a nap.

Call me old, I don't care...:D

I used to work at an ad agency that had a "nap room". It was great.

Oh, here's a good embarrassing story.

Homecoming one year, my date bought me a huge Chrysanthemum as a corsage. The smell was cloying, like dead flesh. I had to have him stop the car on the way to the dance and I threw up on the side of the road.

This guy sounds like a big jerk. I say "fahgeddabuddit".

Biting my tongue....

So a legendary bluesman in his mid 60s is having to work every night on the road, playing in little bars in college towns and such and they stick him in a basement with a bunch of kids to wait two hours to play and you expect him to be happy and friendly? forget you. :rolleyes:

Let that boy boogie-woogie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFE7VfGL59c&feature=related)

Biting my tongue....

So a legendary bluesman in his mid 60s is having to work every night on the road, playing in little bars in college towns and such and they stick him in a basement with a bunch of kids to wait two hours to play and you expect him to be happy and friendly? forget you. :rolleyes:

Let that boy boogie-woogie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFE7VfGL59c&feature=related)

He was nicer than Prince.... :D

But the smokester was just trying to make me feel better. Thanks! Part of the embarrassment was* due to John Lee Hooker's dour face. If it would have been someone more gracious, I wouldn't have felt so stupid. But, still, the man had a right to be dour, being on the road his whole life. I don't know how musicians live like that.

BluesDawg, refresh my memory...

I know you're a big fan, so maybe you don't remember it like I do, but in the early 80's, John Lee Hooker hadn't been "rediscovered". That Stones clip was from the 90's... I don't remember him making large appearances until the late 90's, and then he got really popular.

So in the early 80's, when he was in the Minneapolis basement, his career really was playing small venues in college towns, like you say.

I was on my first cross-country motorcycle trip back in the 70s, travelling solo, and was pulling into a restaurant parking lot where a number of cyclists and vacationers were gathered. I felt really "cool", dressed for the part, a thousand miles from home, and with my BMW all set up and packed for touring & camping.

As I pulled into a parking space, I was aware of all the eyes checking me out. I slowed to a stop, turned off the engine, swung my leg over the seat, let go of the bars, and then realized too late that I had forgotten to put down the side-stand!

I just remembered a cycling related embarrassing moment. Many years ago I was riding as a guest with a club that had three guys on it who were all invited to try out for the Olympic Road Team. These guys were good. In any event, at the time I was a pretty good sprinter, but had no stamina. So, we're doing the sprint to the speed limit sign kind of thing while out on the road, and I actually won a few of them. I start getting cocky and running my mouth. I'm saying stuff like, "What's so hard about riding in a group? I don't get all of the talk about how it takes years to adjust to racing dynamics." I'm being a real pain in the arse. Well, just as we come into town and are starting to pass a group of very attractive young women... and, yes.... most of us were looking and hoping they were looking back, the strongest rider Tony does me in. He pulls up along side me and says, "You want to know what's so hard about learning to ride in a group?" I look over at him and sneer, "Nothing that I can see is hard at all." He then reaches over and pulls the back of my cycling shorts down over the back of my seat so my bare arse is exposed and I can't easily get the shorts back up. Then he says, "Learning how to deal with stuff like this is hard." He glides away laughing, while all those attractive young women are pointing and laughing too. From that day on, the only bragging I did was in my head so no one else could hear it. I felt two inches tall as I had been schooled by someone who actually knew 10 times more than what I thought I knew.