Throughout this project, one guy has come into my head every time I've thought of what it means to be "nice."
I never actually knew him, but he went to school together, and he was always the guy everybody seemed to be like.
Since we live in the age of "you can run, but you can't hide," I thought I'd look him up and see what his thoughts were on my project.
For anonymity's sake, I've given him the name of Cloris Leachman.
ME: Thanks for talking with me, Cloris.
CLORIS: No problem, Kev. How have you been?
ME: Well, I'm about a fourth of the way through this "quiet" project.
CLORIS: When you asked to talk to me, I looked it up. It seems like a real challenge.
ME: So far it has been. Did you know you were one of my inspirations for it?
CLORIS: Yeah, that's kind of nuts. I mean, I'm not that nice.
ME: What are you talking about? You were the nicest guy I knew.
CLORIS: Um, based on what?
ME: You know...stuff.
CLORIS: I think I was pretty mean to everyone actually.
ME: Really?
CLORIS: Yeah, I used to mumble stuff under my breath all the time.
ME: I guess I never--
CLORIS: You should try that.
ME: Try what? Mumbling under my breath?
CLORIS: It's a great way to let out frustration.
ME: Yeah, but it doesn't seem all that nice.
CLORIS: Well, you have to do something otherwise you'll go crazy.
ME: I already have--several times.
CLORIS: So you're not giving yourself any outlet for when you feel irritated or fed up?
ME: I did buy some plates I can break.
CLORIS: Have you broken any yet?
ME: I forgot to mention they're my third set?
CLORIS: Kevin, nobody's perfect, and you deal with the public everyday. You have to give yourself a way to release.
ME: And you really think mumbling under my breath would solve that?
CLORIS: Oh, of course not. That's just a way of stalling until you can go home and punch holes in your wall.
ME: You used to punch holes in your wall?
CLORIS: All the time.
ME: So you really weren't friends with everyone?
CLORIS: Well, I think people THOUGHT I was friends with them, but really, they were just making assumptions about me because I never talked.
ME: And did you stay quiet because you didn't want people to stop liking you?
CLORIS: No, I'm just a quiet person and we live in a society of people who think they're fascinating so they seek out quiet people like me to inflict themselves on.
. . . . .
ME: Yeah...I really...dislike those people.
CLORIS: Seriously though, start looking for a way to let it all out.
ME: Thanks, Cloris.
Mr. Leachman gave me good advice.
After all, those plate sets aren't cheap.
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