When did ADD become such a great quality?

I’ve always believed that the inability to focus on a single task such as say, driving, performing your job or talking with your spouse would be a characteristic that you’d want to correct (except for talking with your spouse). Not so! People these days revel in their inability to concentrate. Flitting from one focus to another, their ADD has become a point of pride. To hear some people tell it, you’d think the disorder was a badge of honor attained through years of study and practice.

Industry supports and encourages this. Twitter thrives on the supposition that people can optimally handle information in 140 character bursts. And it is the rare employer who would even consider hiring someone who asserts, “Although I excel at singular, analytic tasks that require focused concentration, I don’t multitask well”.

It’s just another one of those things that make me shake my head and realize how old, out-of-touch and marginalized I’ve become. I suppose the only way I’ll ever be able to cope with this phenomenon and use it to my advantage is to short Ritalin stock.

In another vein, I was recently interviewed as some sort of career expert on Dream List Radio for Teens, despite not having any teens (or career) myself. In the interview, I explain to teenagers various ways to prepare for career opportunities in being a wilderness guide. I did my best to somehow make it sound much more interesting and lucrative than the debilitating career suicide it actually is: http://www.dreamlistmedia.com/Outdoors/42.aspx

15 year old Brad Jones, (son of Roger Jones, the 1st place winner in the 2009 North Cascades National Park Stud competition) recently was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout. His Eagle project required 400 hours of volunteer service time. That’s more time than most people spend on their personal hygiene every year. (Check out the study in the Journal of Public Health, March 2008). Congratulations Brad!

If you’re tired of being summarily ignored by society, well, I suppose you could get a tattoo. But if that inexplicably doesn’t get you the avalanche of attention you so desperately want and so richly deserve, consider contacting Darlan Erlandson. She’s a publicist who specializes in concerts, shows, theatrical events, books, films, production companies and most any venue. Contact her now at fame@acd.net .

On Oct 1st, the tinny crackle of my voice permeated the airwaves of St. Louis on KTRS 550-AM. Thus, an audience that was as incredibly massive as AM radio could muster, experienced all the barf bag joy and happiness they scarcely knew could exist within themselves.

As if in lockstep, Nicehobbies.org listed sickbag collecting on their celebrated hobbies list: http://nicehobbies.org/funny-hobbies-list

Even Fatpacking has received some blog coverage: http://www.joannee-joannee.com/2009/09/fatpacking.html . Sure it’s negative, but hell, it’s press!

If you’ve ever dreamed of moving to Montana and raising up a crop of dental floss spending every day guiding people through the mountains of Big Sky Country or hiking the Bob you might consider purchasing a turnkey outfitting business from the father of a colleague of mine, Jodie Hooker’s dad. The business is called Bob Marshall Outfitters. http://www.BobMarshallOutfitter.com

Oh, and in the remote event that you actually checked, there was no Personal Hygiene study in the March 2009 Journal of Public Health. However I was indeed on AM radio in St. Louis.