Teach
03-08-2008, 09:03 AM
My father had it. At least I believe he did. I have to assume he did. I mean, I’m here...and I’m his son. I have it. I know that. Yet, I didn’t know I had it until I was older. Then, there's my son. I really knew he had it. I should know. I'm his father. I used to witness it nearly every single day.
That something that I’m alluding to is not some dreaded disease, not would it appeal to the prurient interest. It’s certainly not lewd nor is it lascivious. Yet, it’s something that’s not totally uncommon, especially among horseplayers. In fact, I believe it’s pervasive.
When I was a young man nobody knew it existed, at least no one had a name for it. Today, we know it as — ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).
Years ago, when I first heard those initials, I thought it was electrical, something akin to AC/DC -- not the rock group.
In fact, I believe I was a young teacher back in the 1970s when I first heard the expression. I recall that a guidance counselor approached me one day and said, "I think your student is ADD." At the time I had no clue as to what those initials stood for. However, I would soon learn more about this condition.
In hindsight, I believe I saw it in my own father; yet, I would have simply called it hyperactivity. Oh, by the way, my dad loved to gamble, particularly the horses. My late father had many good qualities, but he was the kind of guy who had trouble staying focused. It seemed that he was always looking for something else to do. Something new. It would drive my mother crazy that he’d start a project and then, about ten minutes later, he'd be diverted to something else. He was like the express train that stopped at a station for a couple minutes, then hurried on to the next, and then the next, and so on.
In retrospect I was like him – like father, like son . When I was younger, I used to beg my father to teach me a new card game. I mean I was probably the only seven year old in the neighborhood who knew how to play: fan-tan, canasta, poker, pinochile, honeymoon bridge, gin rummy, memory, hearts, solitare, etc.
Further, I know when I was younger, and even now as an adult, I have to force myself to stay on task. To stay focused. As I look back, it’s nearly a miracle that I graduated from college. I have to tell you that sitting through hour-and-a-half lectures was like torture. I would have never made in the business world, especialy with all those board meeting (the operative homonym there would have been "bored"). Even now, my mind is often hundreds of miles away. My wife has gone so far as to nickname me: "Mr Oblivious".
Yet my son’s the same way. Not so much a gambler, at least not the horses (he does love to go the casino). Years ago, my wife and I dearly wanted my son to go to college. He just couldn’t hack it. In fact, I recall several years ago I got this call from him at one o'clock in the morning from his college dorm in Boston. "Dad, come pick me up. I'm all packed. Take me home. I can’t hack it." Yet, my son's extremely bright and very talented, especially mechanically.
What’s all this have to do with handicapping? Plenty. As I hypothesized (I believe there’s data to support this), horseplayers are, on average, much more likely to demonstrate ADHD than say the rest of the population. I believe from personal experience that this can be a liability. We (I’ll speak for myself) may tend to get too fragmented in our betting approaches. Maybe, when we're betting different tracks on the simulcast menu, we’re betting places we shouldn’t. Sometimes, I get so bored, I find myself betting the dogs (I call them "the rats"). Or, even the quarter-horses that I know nothing about. All because I need action. If there were two cockroaches running across the floor...well, I wouldn't go that far. Even my betting approaches can be affected by ADHD.
Yes, just the excitement that gambling brings, can be hard-wired into our brains. The bottom line: it can adversely effect how and when we gamble.
Yeh, we all got it it, at least on my dad’s side of the family. I’m not ashamed. It’s just something I need to deal with. Be aware of. I know that I need to cater to this condition (there are meds), especially when I’m gambling.
That something that I’m alluding to is not some dreaded disease, not would it appeal to the prurient interest. It’s certainly not lewd nor is it lascivious. Yet, it’s something that’s not totally uncommon, especially among horseplayers. In fact, I believe it’s pervasive.
When I was a young man nobody knew it existed, at least no one had a name for it. Today, we know it as — ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).
Years ago, when I first heard those initials, I thought it was electrical, something akin to AC/DC -- not the rock group.
In fact, I believe I was a young teacher back in the 1970s when I first heard the expression. I recall that a guidance counselor approached me one day and said, "I think your student is ADD." At the time I had no clue as to what those initials stood for. However, I would soon learn more about this condition.
In hindsight, I believe I saw it in my own father; yet, I would have simply called it hyperactivity. Oh, by the way, my dad loved to gamble, particularly the horses. My late father had many good qualities, but he was the kind of guy who had trouble staying focused. It seemed that he was always looking for something else to do. Something new. It would drive my mother crazy that he’d start a project and then, about ten minutes later, he'd be diverted to something else. He was like the express train that stopped at a station for a couple minutes, then hurried on to the next, and then the next, and so on.
In retrospect I was like him – like father, like son . When I was younger, I used to beg my father to teach me a new card game. I mean I was probably the only seven year old in the neighborhood who knew how to play: fan-tan, canasta, poker, pinochile, honeymoon bridge, gin rummy, memory, hearts, solitare, etc.
Further, I know when I was younger, and even now as an adult, I have to force myself to stay on task. To stay focused. As I look back, it’s nearly a miracle that I graduated from college. I have to tell you that sitting through hour-and-a-half lectures was like torture. I would have never made in the business world, especialy with all those board meeting (the operative homonym there would have been "bored"). Even now, my mind is often hundreds of miles away. My wife has gone so far as to nickname me: "Mr Oblivious".
Yet my son’s the same way. Not so much a gambler, at least not the horses (he does love to go the casino). Years ago, my wife and I dearly wanted my son to go to college. He just couldn’t hack it. In fact, I recall several years ago I got this call from him at one o'clock in the morning from his college dorm in Boston. "Dad, come pick me up. I'm all packed. Take me home. I can’t hack it." Yet, my son's extremely bright and very talented, especially mechanically.
What’s all this have to do with handicapping? Plenty. As I hypothesized (I believe there’s data to support this), horseplayers are, on average, much more likely to demonstrate ADHD than say the rest of the population. I believe from personal experience that this can be a liability. We (I’ll speak for myself) may tend to get too fragmented in our betting approaches. Maybe, when we're betting different tracks on the simulcast menu, we’re betting places we shouldn’t. Sometimes, I get so bored, I find myself betting the dogs (I call them "the rats"). Or, even the quarter-horses that I know nothing about. All because I need action. If there were two cockroaches running across the floor...well, I wouldn't go that far. Even my betting approaches can be affected by ADHD.
Yes, just the excitement that gambling brings, can be hard-wired into our brains. The bottom line: it can adversely effect how and when we gamble.
Yeh, we all got it it, at least on my dad’s side of the family. I’m not ashamed. It’s just something I need to deal with. Be aware of. I know that I need to cater to this condition (there are meds), especially when I’m gambling.