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Had a discussion with a friend the other day.  I’m not even sure what the topic was.  Regardless, for some reason I stated that I was quite happy being a middle-of-the-road or ‘MOR’ , kind of guy.  “I mean”, I said, “What’s wrong with that?”  Everyone is somewhere on the continuum.  We have extremists and thrill seekers on one end and on the other are conservative, non-risk takers.  I considered it an honest and forthright assessment of my character.  My musical tastes run from the seventies to mild jazz and light classical.  Hardly a risk-taker there, but still not a Lawrence Welk  or Perry Como fan.  My clothing is pretty calm with nary a sign of butt crack showing.  Food?  Sushi is as daring as I get, with occasional forays out to enjoy world cuisine.  Yup, middle-of-the-road.  Somehow in this discussion though, I got the sense that my friend thought I meant ‘mediocre’ instead of MOR.    I wonder how many of us confuse the two terms?  Let it be said that I in no way consider myself mediocre.  In  my opinion, mediocre is simply no where to be.  It is a waste of time and life to be mediocre.  One may not have a choice in being middle-of-the-road or some sort of thrill-seeker.  Perhaps it is genetic, the way you are ‘built.  Mediocrity on the other hand, is a choice.   I can declare with utter certainty, that none of the athletes I watched during these recent Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games would ever allow mediocrity to be part of their lives.

So, here I am in my middle-of-the-roadness.  It is a comfortable place to be and it is fun to occasionally venture closer to the extreme end of the spectrum, be it nutritionally, musically or athletically.  I doubt I will ever wear jeans with the crotch almost touching the ground though . . ..  .