Ken Ortiz
Hello my fellow 76’ers,
I wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 2020 has been a very unique and also very difficult year for most of us to get through. We have had losses of family and friends and also classmates. Our sense of "normalcy" (yes, that is a word) has been impacted greatly, but hopefully, we can look forward to good things and a return to some normalcy in 2021. One thing I can take heart in, especially because of today being December 20th, is to continue to embrace life and to embrace this insane and wacky world and to appreciate everybody in our various Inner Circles while you can, because tomorrow is not guaranteed.
Speaking of Inner Circles (IC's), in my Post #814, I mentioned that I would do a write up about ICP (Inner Circle Phenomena). I hope you enjoy the following as another of those “The Science of 60” observations like several I have posted previously. “WAOC" (With Acronyms Of Course). “WDLA?” (Who Doesn’t Love Acronyms?).
An Analysis of ICP - "WAOC"(With Acronyms Of Course)
One of the cool things about longtime friends and family is the development of Inner Circle Phenomena (or ICP for short). This is where you can communicate in various methods with an “Inner Circle” (IC) of individuals, where anyone “outside" the circle will have no idea what you are talking about. For example, I can say something to people within my inner circle (IC) and make them bust out laughing and those outside the circle will wonder why we are laughing for some comment (or phrase or movie/TV quote) I made. Now ICP can come in several different forms, but the main definition of an Inner Circle (IC) in these examples is that there was an “event/situation", where only a select few were there to personally witness it. And these select few could be family, friends, co-workers or even strangers, as there are various IC bubbles that we have had in our lives. Here are examples of some of these various forms of ICP I have experienced:
1) Those events in the past where only a few were witness to, and so memorable and/or embarrassing, that it even has a title put to it. And it works by having said “Inner Circle" members present and one of them saying: “Remember ……”
“That burning underwear fart?" <---also spawned a “phrase” (see 2)
“Brenda's party?”
“Your Chair Dancing at Tutti-Toots?”
“The Powder Puff Game?”
"That White Castle Incident?"
“When you fell in Lake Michigan?” (which was just the start of that day’s escapade)
“Aunt Pauline's 80th birthday party?”
Then there are those that when you get together with some folks you haven't seen in a while and you get reminded of an event (involving you) and you realize that they had already put a title to it. It was at my Aunt Pauline's 80th birthday celebration (held in Chicago) and we had several of my cousins from Dallas there. As I was talking with them and catching up, they still remembered the trip my parents and I took there to visit with them in 1977. Then one asked me:
“Remember…That Disco in Dallas we went to?”
Then it came to me and we both busted out laughing and then we reminisced about that crazy evening (after I blushed for a moment) as she and I and only a couple of others were involved in that particular event.
Sometimes you can get "ICTS" (Inner Circle Title Spawning) or “ICPS” (Inner Circle Phrase Spawning) which are follow-up titles (or phrases) from the original one that are follow-ups to the same event period. Here is an example of “ICTS":
Remember…“That Oshkosh Tournament?” in which another person in the IC would “spawn"…
Remember…”Those quarter beers and magnets?” in which another person in the IC would “spawn"…
Remember…”That disgusting gaseous UNO card game there?”
2) Other ICP moments are when you can say a certain “phrase or quote" to a person within said IC, who was there during that event when that “phrase or quote” was spoken and they totally get it and remember said event when it happened. Some of my examples:
“Is the underwear burning?” (in heavy Spanish accent) <--- example of “ICPS” (Inner Circle Phrase Spawning)
“But does he have the big punch?……..Ohhhhhh!”
“Madonna, you suck!”.........(crash) <---- happened at the Twin drive-in theater
“The Husky Hit" <‐--------from a college IC (Inner Circle), originated by another Lane 1976'er
"Don't pool balls belong in the pool?" <-----one involving me and the above Lane Alum
“But Daaaad!” (in whiny kids voice) <---- at our Bears Super bowl game get together in 1986
“Yo! Rock and roll!” <---- from my bachelor party and my wedding (also in 1986)
“Hey! I know that girl!” <----- from my Las Vegas trip last year (a great sighting story, but not a Lane sighting)
“F***ing Sport Shot" <--- a recent bowling one
“I do it myself!” <---- this is one I shared with a different IC bubble recently and they thought it was so funny (once I explained to them how it came to be). Now they use that quote from time to time and we always get a laugh from it (they have learned to apply that one well). So you can share your ICP's among others, but they may not get the gist of it initially (because they were NOT THERE!).
Side note: Any of the above will send all those that were there for that particular IC event where that quote was originated to bust out laughing, guaranteed!
3) When you are able to incorporate a “Movie/TV Quote” into a conversation. I call that a “TOM/TVQ” (Throwing Out Movie/TV Quote). But the true ICP of this form is when the other person gets it and also acknowledges it. Here is an example:
Me: “So, how are things going?”
My bro (who is used to having these kinds of ICP’s with me): “Going okay, been pretty busy at work this week. How are things going with you?”
Me: “What a WEEK I am having!” <--- movie quote
My bro: “Ahhhh! Splash! Good one!” As he then does the “TICRG” (Typical Inner Circle Response Gesture) at me, which is the “IFW” (Index Finger Wag).
Me: “So, how much longer before you start your vacation?”
My bro: “Two Weeks…Two Weeks…Two Weeks" <---another movie quote
Me: “Ahhhh! Total Recall! Good one!” And I also perform the “TICRG”
I refer to the above ICP as a “TOM/TVQICAGA-ICP" (Throwing Out Movie/TV Quote In Conversation And Getting Acknowledgement-Inner Circle Phenomena)
Side note: It is recommended to imitate the voice/emotion of the Movie/TV quote as close as possible for the best effect.
Sometimes I have a tendency to add some TOM/TVQ’s when I have conversations with family or friends, hoping that they get it, and thus, developing additional IC's. I have several that are even throwing some back at me and thus, we are both challenging each other on our recall of famous movie/TV program quotes and are also having more fun and meaningful conversations. But sometimes when I throw out one of mine to persons not used to this (and I sometimes throw out some pretty obscure and out there ones), I will get a blank and puzzled look from the other party. So that puts me at a decision point of whether to tell them to “never mind”, or to try to explain my Movie/TV Quote reference. I call that situation “TOM/TVQ-FD” (Throwing Out Movie/TV Quote-Fail Dilemma). Unfortunately, too many TOM/TVQ-FD situations will mean that you are “crashing and burning" (pseudo movie quote from “Top Gun”), and thus probably not connecting well with the other person(s).
One thing I found very fascinating is watching when two (or more) people who are in an IC have a conversation and interact. It is a thing of beauty to behold and for me being on the “outside" of it, I just embrace and appreciate that special bond they have. That happened to me recently during our 2020 “Community Read" event (held in February, before things went to COVID hell), where the book selected was “Joyland", by Stephen King. I read the book (twice, actually), to prepare myself for a couple of book review/discussion events being held that week. At one such book review I attended (at our Creative Space facility), I soon noticed that the conversations between a bookstore owner and another person there was definitely IC, as they were throwing out all kinds of comments and references that only they were getting and you could feel those two feeding off each other and the intensity growing. I was very impressed with their “IC" flow and I would guess they knew each other very well because they exhibited “DFADP" (Da Fire And Da Passion), and all you Chicago Bear fans should know that one. So I would call my experience that evening as an “OTICAAICP" (Outside The Inner Circle Admiring An Inner Circle Phenomena).
Actually, one of the best ways to impress people is when you are outside their IC flow, but you catch on to one of their IC references and can respond with an acknowledgement to that reference. I call that “SEAICFP" (Successfully Entering An Inner Circle Flow Phenomena). But a word of warning: It is a very risky maneuver. I liken it to an “All or Nothing" move. A big win or a big fail. So be 100% sure of that reference and how it is being used. Interrupting and killing off their “ICF” (Inner Circle Flow) is not a pretty sight. I call that unfortunate event "UEATITICFMP" (Unsuccessfully Entering And Thus Interrupting The Inner Circle Flow Momentum Phenomena).
Sometimes there can be an event where the same phrase or quote comes out of you all and at the same time, which I call “SICP” (Spontaneous Inner Circle Phenomena). That is the rarest of all the ICP forms. I had an SICP experience the fall of 2016 during the Cubs 2016 championship run. My bro and I walked (good decision that night) to a neighborhood pub a couple of blocks away to watch the Cubs vs. Dodgers NLCS game 6. That was also when “Cubs Nail Lady” (and, yes, I have a picture of her nails – see below) was sitting next to us, watching the game. That place was pretty crowded and filled with die hard Cubbie fans as it was in the Avondale area (near Belmont & Central Park). So when Wilson Contreras hit that late inning home run to essentially put the game out of reach, (and to also lead the Cubs to their first World Series appearance in our lifetime) my bro and I both stood up and yelled “WILLLLSONNNN!!!”, just like Tom Hanks did in the movie Castaway. And it was an SICP because neither one knew the other was going to do that. What made that event even more amazing was that “Cubs Nail Lady" also jumped up and also yelled “WILLLLLLSONNNNN!” at the same time and just like my bro and I did. And she was not even in our "IC" (Inner Circle). That is the first time I ever experienced a Person Outside The Inner Circle Melding With A Spontaneous Inner Circle Phenomena, or “POTICMWASICP”. As my bro and I stared open mouthed at her after the home run celebration, she yelled “I am going to Wrigley Field to celebrate!”, ran out of the bar and we never saw her again.
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