I know what I know

You know, as my sisters and I can affirm with gusto, growing up with clueless parents has it’s downsides. One of them is being clueless yourself. I freely admit I’m clueless about many things.

So in the spirit of trying to help those who may be equally clueless – because we live in a screwed-up society – and because over the decades, even an idiot like me picks things up, I will share the following advice: a bit of hard-won insight after getting it wrong about a thousand times.

When your wife says something critical about you – like “sometimes I think you are an idiot!” – it is often good to respond by saying (with a big smile, and maybe a hearty laugh, and genuine affection which you are willing and able to act on then and there if afforded the opportunity): “You have got to be the cutest 45-year old woman I have ever seen!”

Now there are lots of ways for this to be bad advice. Too much emphasis on “45” can get you in trouble in lots of ways. It’s a subtle thing, in the whole balance of the sentence and the gleam in your eye that has to be right. And if you always respond this way, it’ll lose it’s appeal pretty quick, and if you don’t really mean it, why it’ll blow up in your face. But if you are ready to “hit that” :-) at a moment’s notice, it’ll be a winner.

Useful, eh? Now isn’t that better than stupid political opinions, technology bullquackery, and godawful math and philosophy and other profound baloney?