~a column by Colleen O’Brien
1. Who’s the whiniest person you know?
It could be siblings, once-friends, parents, your child, your grandchild, a great aunt, a boss, your roommate, your president?
It’s such a weenie way to live, complaining. Especially when it’s about everything, like a differing point of view. Or a questioning of point of view. Or a mere dispute about facts.
I tend to drift away from the whiners or tell them to go outside and play. Life is too short to put up with crybabies.
2. Who’s the most dishonest person you know?
Sometimes you don’t know this for years, and then something surfaces—it comes out that she has two husbands, one in the next state; or he’s never written down the correct number of shots on his score card; or in the case of a friend of mine—her stepson turned in his own father, her husband, for Ponzi scheming their acquaintances’ financial portfolios, a situation that had been going on for a dozen years.
Or it could be someone who commits relationship lying and financial lying and just plain lying about whatever. Once again, I drift away; often not soon enough. But if I’m compelled to stick around, I don’t listen. Especially if it’s someone suddenly in a position to give life and death advice. Who can trust ‘em?
3. Who’s the rudest person you know?
Rudeness comes in all situations—to you personally, to one person in the group you’re in at one moment or another, to waiters and clerks, to cats, to other drivers.
Pushing to get in the front row of a group photo is rude. Making up sophomoric names for people one doesn’t agree with is rude. Forever cutting people off in conversation is rude.
Rudeness has no limits. I don’t drift away from these folks, I shut my ears, turn off the source, I run.
4. Who’s the least informed person you know?
Usually, the least informed is the one telling me what he/she thinks I should know. Or worse, revealing to me in his arrogance that he knows so little.
I heard one of them say in great seriousness about himself that he was a stable genius. Who would say that in any seriousness without getting laughed off the planet?
5. Who’s the cockiest person you know?
Hands down in ascending order: Comedian Bill Maher, actress Roseanne Barr, rapist Harvey Weinstein, president #45.
The only one I like is Bill Maher because, as with some of us, he is sincerely distraught about the state of democracy across the planet; and because he never fails to make me laugh.
From my list I ask, Who’s likely to fall the hardest, sooner than later?
1. “your president”
2. “he who is giving life and death advice”
3. “Pushing to get in the front row of a group photo…. Making up sophomoric names for people one doesn’t agree with…. Always cutting people off in conversation….”
4. “the most stable genius”
5. “president #45”
Five outta five, in my book.
