Different Kinds of People

There are a lot of different kinds of people out there. Recently I've noticed how just in the small area I work, live, and play there can be such an array of people that fit into the stereotypical country, redneck, educated, well-to-do kinds of folks.

I don't have a problem with people being who they are. I don't care if a guy can't speak any correct English or another guy uses words I've never heard of because his vocabulary is so big. I like to think that I can fit in with any type of people, whether it be in a business meeting with millionaires or on a jobsite with men making a living off the bend in their back. Somehow I feel like I'm in the middle. I can talk country to make folks feel like I am one of them, or I can use proper grammar and fit in with the well-educated class.

I like the simple life, and the good-ole folks that live it. But sometimes I also like having an intelligent conversation that is more than how big the fish they caught was. I always feel like I should morph my personality to be the person they want to be around. And so that means they start talking to me about hunting, or on the flip side they talk about politics. But the country people I've found are smart too, they know about politics, and the well-educated know about hunting.

I used to always wonder, does the redneck who wears blue-jean shorts and a mullet know what the rest of the world is wearing and doing? And I would think, do the sheltered folks I grew up with know what it's like to be in the country...and around slow-moving people? Or am I just in the middle...going back and forth between them...they don't know about each other but I know about both of them.

Well, I think everyone is smarter than I've always thought. I think I'm the one being dooped. Instead of being myself, I've tried to talk to others about things they are interested in. That's nice, but in the end I let them control the conversation and I walked away thinking they were not as 'well-rounded' as I am...because I thought they only knew about a couple things whereas I knew about many things. But I think people live in the way they want to, where they feel comfortable. Educated folks in the city aren't necessarily smarter, nor do they necessarily have more money. Bottom line, everyone deserves respect, and don't judge someone's intelligence until you heard all the things they know about.

JB