[twotrudoc]

This is the funniest dangdest thing

Those of us braider types know that about 5 am the Tejano music starts and the aisles are filled with singing, chattering, and exuberant (mostly) Mexican grooms and stable hands.

The guy who is working the barn across from one of my clients is an early bird, he gets there about 4:25-4:30 am. Very friendly guy, cute too! Except! He has the Tourettes. At least, I have to assume? He has a really high pitched (think screeching baby eagle) singing (?) voice and he starts randomly shrieking out things in Spanish for about an hour each morning, at least until I leave between 5:30 and 6

I am not sure if he is screeching out the lyrics to the song before you sing them? I know I have done this in the car but this is...wow.

Thursday morning me and the horse I was braiding exchanged freaked out glances

[Bluey]

Tourette's Syndrome is a neurological disorder that can be mild or more severe.
I have known some people with Tourette, one our veterinarian a while back, an excellent vet, but would cuss involuntarily along with making odd noises, which lost him many clients.
While on medication, he was much better, but still not quite right.
He eventually hung himself, so sad, when he would not stay on his medication.

The other one just passed away as an older man, had a milder expression of Tourette, but once they almost sent him to jail for cussing with sexual innuendos to a very young girl and the parents took serious offense.

Two friends have a very, very mild expression, one clears his throat all the time, the other, she kind of, well, sounds like a burp when she speaks, that escapes here and there.

One very mild Tourette sufferer was our father.
As a professor, it was a bit of a joke, students were betting on how many times in 15 minutes he would make his odd noise, an even or uneven number of times.

I hope those examples will help you understand Tourette is not that rare.

I don't know if the groom you are talking about really has Tourette Syndrome, but if he does, he really can't help himself.

I have built up tolerance to those ticks from growing up with some of it, but I can see why you and your horse would be .

[twotrudoc]

It was not offensive, just oddly funny

[ReSomething]

"Los gritos", the shouts/screams/yells are a part of quite a few rancheria style Mexican songs. Your guy may be just expressing the passion of the song if he's doing an "aaaah ha ha" at intervals. It's sort of like the yeehaw.

[twotrudoc]

No...and I do that too LOL!!

This was more like a string of shrieking words in Spanish. They didn't quite sound like the lyrics after but possibly.

[ReSomething]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZM8GDa6LkY Anything like this? Whistles, yips, you name it.

Some of the old ranchera songs were full of sobs and wails and we used to sing counterpoint, not along with it but just yelling it out when it felt right in the song. Course, this fella might just be a little odd too.

[kaluha2]

"He eventually hung himself, so sad, when he would not stay on his medication."

OMG Bluey that is so tragic, very sad.

[Bluey]

"He eventually hung himself, so sad, when he would not stay on his medication."

OMG Bluey that is so tragic, very sad.

It was terrible.
Tourette can be hard to live with.
I will never understand why someone with a medical education and all kinds of drugs on hand would do what he did.

If someone has any kinds of ticks, Tourette or not, we need to be very kind to them, it is harder on them than on the rest of us, no matter how much we may think it bothers us.

That one groom, he may just be singing along, his own idiosincratic way, no other going on.

Is he at least singing along in tune?

[nightsong]

I had a boyfriend with Tourette's. He didn't do the vocalizations (said he had when younger), but would periodically squinch up his face and throw his elbows back. He had callouses on his back from the shoulder blades being thrown against each other.

The groom/handler/whatever sounds just loud and inconsiderate, neither musical nor medical.

[jetsmom]

I'd give him the benefit of the doubt. If he has Tourrettes, and is spanish speaking, it makes sense that the words that come out our in Spanish. It would be awful to have that disease. When people have a physical handicap, that is visible, people are generally sympathetic to them. But with something like Tourrettes, people that are unfamiliar with it can be very cruel.

On a humorous note, I live in a new subdivision with a lot of new homes being built. My mom thoroughly enjoyed herself when she visited and the construction workers were playing Ranchera music, and doing the "Ayyee haa haa" yell. She commented that "The workers seem so happy and it seems so festive! Like a party!" (But this is also the same person that when we were watching the NFL playoffs one year and the announcer said "And So and So, a 4th yr Pro Bowler will attempt a 49 yd field goal".... My mom commented in surprise.."OH! He BOWLS too????" I told her, "yeah, he just comes in and kicks a field goal part time. He's pretty good isn't he?" And she said "Oh Yeah. He ought to consider doing it as a career!" LOL.)

[Mara]

About 20 years ago there was a big league ballplayer who had Tourette's. I remember remarking, "wow, he has the PERFECT excuse to curse at the umpires!"

[skydy]

(But this is also the same person that when we were watching the NFL playoffs one year and the announcer said "And So and So, a 4th yr Pro Bowler will attempt a 49 yd field goal".... My mom commented in surprise.."OH! He BOWLS too????" I told her, "yeah, he just comes in and kicks a field goal part time. He's pretty good isn't he?" And she said "Oh Yeah. He ought to consider doing it as a career!" LOL.)

Bless her heart! Makes perfect sense if you aren't familiar with the football "pro bowl".

[JanM]

He might not have any syndrome, but just randomly like to sing phrases. He might also be like a friend of mine who loves to sing, but can't carry a tune for anything.

Or like my friend who always sings or plays music in fairly deserted places, or when she's home alone (she told me about that) because she freaks out about any noise and imagines it's some threat, so she makes a lot of noise so she doesn't notice creaks or popping noises or possible animal noises.

[fburton]

Tourette's Syndrome is a neurological disorder that can be mild or more severe.
I have known some people with Tourette, one our veterinarian a while back, an excellent vet, but would cuss involuntarily along with making odd noises, which lost him many clients.
While on medication, he was much better, but still not quite right.
He eventually hung himself, so sad, when he would not stay on his medication.

Very sad indeed. I can't help thinking better public understanding - and hence acceptance - of the condition is what's needed, maybe even more than medication.

There was an interesting documentary on British TV about Tourette's a while back, called The Boy Can't Help It.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtCG0wG-5E0

ETA: Warning - clip contains swear words that begin with f (common enough, I'm afraid to say, in the non-Tourette's population in Glasgow).

[HungarianHippo]

I know the OP wasn't looking for some big discussion about this disability (and who knows if the barn worker has any disability or is just grooving to the music). But there is an excellent, and very moving documentary called "I have Tourettes but Tourettes Doesn't Have Me" that I'd urge you to find and watch. This is a short clip from it:
http://tsa-usa.org/ZHBO/VideoPlayer.html

[mvp]

"Los gritos", the shouts/screams/yells are a part of quite a few rancheria style Mexican songs. Your guy may be just expressing the passion of the song if he's doing an "aaaah ha ha" at intervals. It's sort of like the yeehaw.

"Los gritos"-- that was my first guess. I didn't know what that feature of rancheria music was called.

I like it and I miss the times and people I was around when the day was punctuated by these cries.

Can't hate anyone digging on his/her music, eh?

[fburton]

Can't hate anyone digging on his/her music, eh?

Keith Jarrett!!

[ldaziens]

It was terrible.
Tourette can be hard to live with.
I will never understand why someone with a medical education and all kinds of drugs on hand would do what he did.

If someone has any kinds of ticks, Tourette or not, we need to be very kind to them, it is harder on them than on the rest of us, no matter how much we may think it bothers us.

I'm not sure which medications are used for turrets; but many medications have side effects -- there aren't perfect solutions for a lot of conditions. Unfortunately.

[twotrudoc]

ReSomething that is IT! Thanks!! Woohooo!!!!!!

He was quiet this morning though. Everyone seemed really tired and lagging. Maybe because the rain showed up and it's the last day of the show.

Idaziens, you don't use medications for turrets, you use flaming bows and arrows, and perhaps a boulder launcher

[ReSomething]

I didn't know that Tejano was what you called the accordion style and that it was a US import - interesting to look that up. We listened to Los Kinos and Los Bukis and songs from telenovelas, plus old ranchera (not rancheria, got that wrong) songs by Vincente Fernandez etc. Plus mariachi - what a way to go deaf in a small building.
Great fun and happy times, TTD hope your guy is belting 'em out again soon on a nicer day.