Who Am I?

During a recent telephone conversation, my brother, Scott, asked something along the lines of, "Why don't you post about the time you..." and then proceeded to remind me of an incident where my other-worldly psychoses came into play.

"But, Scott," I replied. "I'm trying to come off as a fairly 'normal' guy who sits back and chuckles with wry amusement at the wacky foibles we all come across in life."

"Normal" guy...

Growing up, for some reason, a lot of adults seemed to think I was "that nice boy" their kids would play with. Teachers would "ooh" and "aah" over my art projects and such.

Something that I've noticed is that I have received some very positive comments from my fellow blog-crawlers describing me as "sweet", "kind", "smart", and the like. These sort of comments, of course, are always appreciated, and I thank you.

But you know, this sort of thing, if left unchecked, can really create problems.

You can begin to believe your own press.

Hubris happens.

A person's thought process can become so self-justifying that no rationale for poor behavior is too ludicrous.

"It's OK for me to make fun of your speech impediment because I got an A+ on my spelling test and I'm so special!" for instance. (A little girl next door to us had a very bad Elmer Fudd problem and it would drive me nuts. Irrationally, I thought she was calling me "KWAIG" to be nasty. What a mean-spirited dope Master Craig was.)

On the Internet, it is really easy to go overboard. If someone posts something on a blog or message board that rubs you the wrong way, you can end up with a five-alarm flame war on your hands if you respond prior to counting to ten. It's happened to me and I've seen it happen to others.

So who am I?

I have to wonder.

I've said and done some truly reprehensible things in my life, this I know. I am really that "nice guy" that some people think I am or am I that smart-mouth bastard that other folks have experienced.

I guess I'm both.

How about you?

Note: The illustration is swiped from ladybluestocking.com.