Who determines normal?

In response to last week’s question,  “Who determines normal?”,  my sailing friend Mike realized it is “Norm! of course.  And if you're not in Cheers, it’s the guy at the end of the bar.”  My birthday bud Jon determined it is “Norm and Al.  No, actually it’s Norm and Al's parents.” 

My dad’s beach buddy Bob advised, “It used to be the majority but these days all it requires is a presidential decree to change the rules,” to which my engineering friend Steve asked, “Isn't there a new Czar for that?”   My friend Kwame, who I recently learned completed a Half Ironman triathlon, replied, “The 1%. No wait, that's wrong, it's the 99%. No. No, wait, I know. I know it's the 1%, they have the media buying power ;-)  ”

My Storer Cable colleague Buck advised, “Abnormal’s cousin who’s totally embarrassed by his relatives.”  My BBQ friend Alan shared, “my shrink” while my cousin Wes said, “abnormal psychiatrists who are trying to figure it out” to which my friend Royce added, “But who is really normal?”  Then my friend Swany explained, “those who reside in Normal, IL.  There lies the basis for all normal.”

My neighbor Al pointed out that it was “Dr. Bell Curve.  In reality there is no normal, it's just that we migrate towards people of our own level of intelligence as demonstrated by the people who subscribe to this email.”  And my leadership friend Stuart, “It used to be Norm Stein and Al Levine until they got married. Now it’s their wives, Mary Stein and Dee Levine. (N.B. MaryDee= married).”

My beloved volunteer-recruiting friend Vivian shared, “My normal is probably no one else's.  If I was compared to someone else, I would not be normal, which I have been told many times, but to me, I am normal.”

And then, my neighbor Dick noted, “being "normal" is overrated” to which my organizational behavior guru Marya added, “Normal is no fun, LOL!”  And to all of this, my writing and sailing friend Rich concluded, “Mr. and Ms. Mean Average do. They strive to eliminate the highs and lows and put everyone in the boring middle.  But life is in the highs and lows, long live Mr. and Ms. Abby Normal and their merry band of outliers who soar above and below the average!”

Please share your thoughts about "things that make you go 'Hmmm' “:

Can you burn a field down to the ground?

Life  is too short for drama and petty things, so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly, and forgive  quickly.