I made it up to prank my Mum! Is my sense of humour! I thought I would share it further and the thread sort of expanded into genuine whistles to warn off deer etc, so I went with it.
Due to autism, I have an odd hidden sense of humour where due to masking facial expressions etc, I can look serious and say a joke without the ones I have said it to getting the joke until later when they thought about what I said. My Dad used to do this as well! He once convinced a wealthy high classed lady who said she used to be poor that when his Dad came back from work on payday, his Dad bought a pack of extra strong mints and would such it, put his tongue out so the rest of the family could warm their hands, and this elderly upper class lady took it all in until she finally realized my Dad was pranking her, and she laughed so much! That was my Dad! His ability to use his sense of humour in such a way that it would not offend but have a dig at them at the same time just to amuse them when they found out what he had done! He was expert at it.
I also used this as a clever mask, as when I worked on the railways, where I would have to deal with thousands of people a day, I developed ways to do this by telling jokes and using my hidden humour with it. The funny thing is, I could only remember so many jokes, and just before I left the railway after almost 9 years, I was working a morning train, and I said a certain joke, and a regular passenger said the rest of the joke. I asked "Have I told you that before?" He sighed and said "Every day for the past 10 years!" (Which wasn't exactly true as I worked a different turn almost every day and I also d not worked there for ten years), but other regulars also chuckled when he said that!
But anyway! I think they thought it amusing hearing the same jokes for such a long time!
But with masking, I could appear jolly and happy on the outside while hiding other things on the inside, so when I admitted to a trains manager once that I had been having suicidal thoughts, it completely shocked him. They did arrange counselling which I am very greatful for. Was about six months before I left due to burnout which I know now why. The continual masking.
Usually hit burnout every two years, but because the railways was an ever changing shift patterns where the staff I worked with kept changing from day to day, while I am stressed in an ever changing enviroment, it did mean that I was able to mask for longer somehow? As I am writing I understand more.... 2 years is where I used to normally have others start to realize I was masking (In not a good way because they would feel like I was deceiving them) so continuing to work beyond that and I was under heightened workplace stress, so I would eventually hit burnout where I would hand in my notice. Railways, this point was 5 years in but I lasted to nearly 9 years before I hit a major burnout/breakdown where I knew I had to get out. (Never knew I was autistic in those days but I certainly knew I was different!)
Anyway... After that, I kept hitting burnout/breakdown more and more frequently and the jobs I took became less and less hours temporary jobs because it was not fair on me or the employer to even try for anything else. And I needed more and more time (Years on occasions) to recover as I was being mentally hit harder and harder when each burnout/breakdown came, as it snowballed. Finally after a series of events pointed to autism due to for over 40 years trying to find out what the shutdowns were as doctors didn't know and I didn't know as I noticed them physically and back then ignored the mental bit (No idea why as now I realize the signs when before I taught myself to ignore the signs because so many people had told me to "Ignore it and it will go away" type of advice?)
Anyway... I am going off topic!
