Perceptions Of Perspectives

I had a wonderful evening last night - too many drinks with two, count 'em - two beautiful women - but a seriously wonderful evening.

In the course of the conversations I was enlightened about some people that don't like me.

Now, over the course of a lifetime, you will encounter many people that don't like you for various reasons. Some of those reasons are valid and some of them are simply a matter of personal taste. Some are just plain crazy!

I know this and I have always been comfortable with those that think I am an arrogant prick.

Love me or hate me - there's not too much in-between in my experience. Luckily for me, most people just LOVE ME!!!!

But this particular conversation was backed up by examples of why they didn't like me. The first of those was that I go to athletic contests and talk really, really badly about the coaches.

Now this made me laugh very loudly.

Here I am, the head umpire for a large baseball league where I personally and routinely discipline people for saying anything about a coach in a negative way. Here I am, a guy that coached for years and years and had to endure the ridiculous posturing of parents who thought their children we better than the others and could not understand why they were not stars and therefore it must be the coach's fault. Here I am, the father of a boy that had a very successful athletic career and got every honor that he could.

I not only never talked bad about a coach, I never had a reason to.

Amazing the things people pile on their own bad opinions in order to somehow justify their feelings. Anyway, I didn't like these particular people that don't like me so it wasn't like my ego was crushed.

But it did make me think of what lengths people go to in order to feel good about the negative things in their lives.

It is written somewhere, on whatever it is "they" write it on, that we judge the relative intelligence and character of a person by the degree by which they agree with our own points of view. And I guess that is true.

So, for those of you that love me - thank you - I agree with you. But for those of you that think I am an arrogant prick - well you can kiss my ass as I shake the dirt from my shoes as I walk away.

I need a nap.