I whisper-yelled at some kid to kill his iPhone so I could indulge the finer points of Fast Five. I’ve shot glares at compulsive throat clearers, volume junkies, and pencil-drumming Ringos at the library. I once flipped a pair of birds at a Civic who (I found out immediately upon glancing over my righteous middle fingers) honked on accident whilst waiting for me to cross the street. I nearly ended a 10th grader at a concert because his girlfriend punched me in the face after my girlfriend requested she lower her voice. I’m over 30.
Hi. I’m Cody. And I’m a recovering asshole.
Or maybe “grouch” is better. The distinction is important because the two look a lot like twins but are, in the end, just sibs. An asshole doesn’t really become one until a grouch comes along and bestows the title. The asshole's is a lavish un-understanding, a cartoon fog of ignorance to the annoyance caused by his actions, which makes said annoyance kind of a lone tree falling. A meager fart reporting forgettably into the wind.
Grouches are the farters. The ones who get it, who suffer the burden of knowing, impossibly observant, terminally offended. Grouches get to rage and define, define and collect, collect and obsess. Kanye says this kind of thing gives him a Tylenol. To me it feels like something less emotional, more like a Stupendous Waste of Limited Minutes on Earth.
Outrage brought to you by That Tailgating Jerk is great fun to indulge. It’s just so boring. And it's boring to hear about. A last resort in the list of things I want to be feeling at any given moment.
Outrage brought to you by That Tailgating Jerk is great fun to indulge. It’s just so boring. And it's boring to hear about. A last resort in the list of things I want to be feeling at any given moment.
What’s more interesting to me is good behavior.
Go ahead, chew on everything connoted by “good behavior:”
- Principal Rooney
- Nurse Ratched
- anyone with “Principal” or “Nurse” before their first name
- Hey Ya!
- Bart Simpson in a shorts suit at church
- Calvin’s combed hair
All chewed? Great, now swallow because good behavior as a function of conformity isn’t on today's menu. Acknowledging the human condition and pitching in to make it better (especially in face-to-face micro-ways) is. There’s “Tuck in your shirt because that’s what nice boys do” and there’s “Look the homeless guy in the eye when you give him a dollar because that’s what nice humans do.” I’m interested in the latter. Maybe “good citizenship” is a better name for it than “good behavior.” Could be they’re related like assholes and grouches, but I doubt it.
I made a list about this once. It was part of a high school graduation gift for my little brother. A few of the men in Aaron’s life compiled a book of things they wished they’d known at 18 and gave it to him. My affair with bullet points and procrastination is passionate, so I decided on a contribution 18 blurbs in length. Aaron was getting a handle on his ADD at the time; I reckon the short format was best for us both.
Looking back, the list feels like a confirmation of my own beliefs as much as it does a prescription for a little brother. There are gaping holes in both the list and my ability to always take my own medicine. But the notion of uncomplicated respect toward others is there. Whatever larger belief system or personal code you’ve carved into the sky above your life, I find notions to be helpful on the ground, in those mundane specks of daily interaction with other people.
You could sum it up like, “Be a net positive in the universe today,” or “Make others feel good.” Both fantastic things to live by and make posters of, but hard not to see as trite when stuck in the moment with Library Ringo, Fast Lane Feather Foot, or Shout-Talk Diner. So I made a list of specifics:
1) Recognize your achievements, accept compliments, drunkenly celebrate, fall asleep on the beach. But do wake up, do drink your coffee, stretch out the hangover and use the momentum to snap into your next thing. Rewards for a job well done are nice. Sustained progression over time is better than nice.
2) Love hard. One of the best achievements in life is the capacity to give and receive love. Think about that. Not as easy as it sounds, especially for men. This doesn’t mean being reckless with your feelings, though your heart will take a beating now and again. Go out of your way to tell the people you care about how you feel. That goes for friends, family, lovers. I'm sorry for putting those three in the same sentence.
3) Quotes can be lovely when lifted from the right people. Take this one to heart:
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
- Mark Twain
- Mark Twain
4) Don’t pick your nose in the car. Everyone can see you.
5) Do your best at whatever you do. This isn’t to say avoid devouring shiny and eclectic pursuits that catch your eye/heart (You should totally do that, especially at the outset of your 20s.). But it does mean that once you commit to something important, follow through. Talent exists, but exceptional people didn’t get that way by just having it. You hear a lot about hard work, grit, paying your dues, etc. Tired old-guy-talking-to-young-guy phrases, yes, but there’s a reason they exist. Multiply your natural strengths with these things and you’ll be unstoppable.
6) Be good to your body. Eat well. Don’t tattoo areas you wouldn’t tan. Legs are OK.
7) Have a group of close dude friends. There are truths you’ll never learn about yourself until you spend time with people who don't want to see you naked.
8) Listen. Listening isn’t sitting there looking like you’re interested. So many people do this because looking someone in the eye without saying anything is hard. Stop wondering what your listening face looks like or how many times to nod your head at a point well made. Stop waiting for your turn to talk, start hearing what the other person is saying, how it makes them feel, what it says about them and how they approach the world. Want to learn, even if you don’t feel like it. Don’t worry, you’ll have your chance on the mic, but give people the courtesy of your genuine attention first. Do that and they’ll repay you with the gift of truly listening to what you have to say.
9) Be good at communicating. That can mean a lot of things: persuading, comforting, clarifying, supporting, etc. Whatever it is, say what you mean. It’s hard to do that if you don’t have a point. Some people are good at doing this with a lot of syllables, some get the job done with less. Either is fine, so long as there’s intention. Otherwise, you’re left with chatter, which is boring at best, narcissistic at worst, annoying at all times. Talk when you know what you’re talking about. Shut up and be a sponge when you don’t.
10) Make mischief.
11) Extremity and moderation – there’s room in your life for both. When gauging things like other people’s opinions, be moderate. Strike a balance between stubborn judgmentalism and blind belief. Take pride in being you, but don’t walk around seeking to embarrass those who see things differently. At that point, you’ve stopped learning from others. Once that happens, young padawan, you are fucked. Lessons you’ll remember for the rest of your life can come from deep left field. Don’t be afraid to mix it up. Go to the symphony, talk to your cab driver, listen to NPR, go to a rodeo, watch subtitled movies, make friends with someone who never went to college, be in a Pride parade, volunteer at a retirement home, learn how to dive in a third world country. When you do these things, know your audience and weigh the wisdom they have to offer against your knowledge of who they are.
12) When in doubt, keep your cool.
13) Know a lot. Don’t pretend to know it all. Don't ever actually think you know it all.
14) Be respectful to the women in your life, no matter what the nature or outcome of the relationship.
15) A mustache is off limits before 35, unless it’s part of a beard. Or a dare.
16) Sometimes you must fake it ‘til you make it, but don’t let it become a way of life. If you must explain your work instead of letting it speak for itself, be a competent and honest explainer. Nobody likes a poser.
17) Be kind to waiters, janitors, cab drivers – anyone whose job it is to make your life easier. Rude people look incredibly insecure to those they’re trying to impress.
18) Call your brother frequently. He loves you very much and needs someone to boss around.
Good citizenry is work, and I think it takes shape from an accumulation of things like tiny good deeds, off-handed kindnesses, subtle encouragement. My hope for Aaron is that this stuff becomes reflexive.
Even if it doesn’t, and he has to work as hard as I have to mellow out, I’ve done my part to combat the evils automotive rhinotillexis. Be still my grouchy heart – that is something.
