R-E-S-P-E-C-T

by Pa Rock
Tough Guy

I have a black eye, a shiner, what would be called in the parlance of my youth - a beaut! It is the result of an accident that I had in the dark on Tuesday morning, and it began to blacken immediately. And while my first thought was that this new affectation might garner some sympathy from my friends and co-workers, what it actually did was give me a measure of respect like I had never experienced before.

Some people ask what happened, buy many do not. They stare into my eyes while speaking, probably trying to come up with the most plausible scenario without actually being crass and asking. Wednesday afternoon I facilitated a Women's Anger Management Group. During the session I took off my glasses so the ladies could get a good view of my shiner - which was in its prime. Not one person said anything about it, and the session ran much smoother than usual!

Today I went telephone shopping. Normally when I am dealing with the young techie types, I get a lot of patronizing attitude. Not today. The young man talking to me about Droids and Net Books maintained eye contact the whole time and answered every question thoroughly and in plain English. He didn't know me from Adam, but something primal told him that it would be smart to be polite and show the old man a healthy measure of respect!