Have you ever found out that

you aren't the person you think you are? I know it's a weird

question. Perhaps it would be better to say, have you ever found out that

people don't see you the way you think they do?

For example, I always thought

that I was an affable, outgoing gent. I assumed that I was very personable

and approachable and despite the occasional smart mouth or burst of curse

words, I was, generally, a pleasant person. Apparently, I'm not.

Recently, I've been told,

to something - that I was very...serious (Gasp!). I know, they must be

wrong. I mean, they're talking about the guy that wrote about animated

bumpkin' monkeys. I'm not serious, I'm fun! I like Weird

Al Yankovic and Spongebob Squarepants. I giggled at "Elf" more

than the kids in the theater did. I like laughing and I sing to myself,

typically several times a day and it's almost never a Carpenters

ballad. Though admittedly I do love "Rainy Days and Mondays."

Where did these people get

the idea that I was this serious, dour person? Maybe I used to be, but

not anymore. I haven't listened to my Smiths or Cure albums in years.

I no longer sit in the dreary basements of coffee houses and write pining

poetry to no one in particular. I'm happy. Honestly. I have a great

wife, a good job, a house, three cats that I like O.K. (for the most part),

a supportive family that lives close by, food on the table and a great

tv system. Plus, I have lots of friends, I'm involved in the community

and, as far as I know, I have no real enemies.

But, maybe I am more of a straight

laced person than I thought. A lot of my college wackiness and hyperactivity

has ebbed. I'm no longer as manic as I once was. This is probably

O.K. I mean, no one was saying I was a stick in the mud, though that's

the way I took it. I think that it was probably a good thing that I found

out that people saw me differently than I saw myself. Every now and then

you need a different perspective.

I can't possibly be the

only person with this problem either. Perhaps you have an entirely different

problem and think that people see you as this boring person, when really

they think you have a dry wit and interesting things to say. I suppose

the only way to solve this problem, and it's really not that much

of a problem, is to continue to be yourself and try to look at yourself

in certain situations. This doesn't mean that I'll hang out

at parties by a mirror but maybe the next time I find myself standing

in the corner at a party, I'll be putting a lampshade on my head.

PS: I want to use the remaining

space to give a shout out to the Creative Writing Club at Huie Elementary

School in Forest Park. They invited me to join them at their meeting last

week and after talking about the joys of writing, we had cookies and that

juice that comes in the plastic bottles shaped like barrels. They also

had me sign autographs on the copies of the newspapers that I brought.

It is not often that I get to feel like a rock star, so thanks. Remember,

keep writing every day, even when you don't feel like it. Especially

on those days when people make you feel like you're this ogre, who

can't smile without faking it and only likes things like liver and

math problems.

Back

to the Top of the Page