Kinda Mean

Part of the deal that comes with being an old(ish) curmudgeon is you gotta be mad.

It's kinda crucial to the whole gimmick.

Outraged.

Cantankerous.

Great word.

So what do you make of an old(ish) curmudgeon who's just having the time of his life?

Grinning through the madness.

The only way to go.

There's an old line that I like to quote.

About how New Yorkers are not nice but they are kind.

And how Californians are nice but they are not kind.

And the example I heard recently was if you had something in your teeth.

That a New Yorker would say, "Hey fool, you got something in your teeth."

Not nice, but kind.

Whereas the Californian would just let you walk around with it.

And how the line in that song that's really just a commencement speech talks about living in New York City once but to leave before it makes you hard.

And the same for Northern California but leaving before it makes you soft.

But the teeth thing isn't really right.

It's more like this.

The kind not nice thing.

Let's move away from oral hygiene.

There's an old movie with Will Smith.

Back when it was ok to like him.

He was chasing something, then.

He's homeless and trying to make a living with a young son.

The details aren't important.

But he's in the city.

And he's running to cross the street at lunch hour.

A car hits him.

Boom!

And the guy gets out and looks genuinely concerned for Will.

"Hey arsehole. Are you okay, arsehole?"

That's not nice but kind.

Although it's a movie.

Set in San Francisco.

So maybe it's a city thing.

Not a state.

But that's the difference.

The other way would be to be really nice to Will, getting his contact information so you could later sue him (hopefully well insured and/or net worth it) for the damage to your car, emotional distress, hospital bills, physical therapy, loss of consortium, etc.

Or to avoid same.

Nice, not kind.

See the difference?

It's like that line Southerners say.

"Bless your heart."

Can be a polite insult.

The city way to say that is "What the fook wrong with you?"

So I leave you with this:

Nice and kind are not the same.

Not even similar.

And the nicest people you will encounter may be the worst.

And the kindest may seem a little rough around the center.

This is exceptional, of course.

Most nice people are decent.

Likable.

Most kind people are obviously so.

Radiant.

And the other way, too.

But sometimes, just sometimes, the maddest dog in the kennel, is also the sweetest.

🐺

Oh, I wasn't referring to me.

I'm a dragon.

🐲

Are you okay?

I'm fine, fool.

Say, what's your name?

Are you judgment proof?

Next!!!