Where I am; where I was; and where I hope to be

[T-Bird]

Carl,  you will always have me as a friend, no matter how big a asshole you become.
Just like my signature line on the left says......you will always have friends

[chauffeur]

A normal person carries an image in front of him that he tries to show to all he sees.  The last thing he will do before speaking or acting is ask himself, "How will this make me look?"  I had no such question.  What I am is what you will likely see.  Even well down the road to healing, maybe completed, I still have no inclination and no patience with deceit and pretense.   I tell my friends also that the world would be a better place to live if we all took a couple of quick shots to the head.
   

That's incredibly insightful, Carl.  Rest assured though, you are not alone on this one.  It's my belief that I've been inflicted with the same "abnormality" you reference since birth.

Tried to change it once after receiving some senior management career development coaching at work.  Actually spent the better part of six months "trying" to be less direct and softer in all human interactions.

I was miserable.   Stopped trying the day my wife told me to "Knock that sheet off".   She wanted back the ever challenging, critical, and direct person that she married. 

I acknowledge the fact that my demeanor can negatively impact my relations with others.   It works the other way, too.  You'd be amazed at the number of times someone will quote something I said or did years ago, and how it positively affected them.

I've grown a bit more tolerant recently, but that's just part of the aging process.

It's simple.  You gotta be yourself.   

Thanks for sharing this, Carl.  Hope to see you at the GOTF. 

[hotglue #43]

Can't wait to meet one of my favorite assholes again down in Friendswood. Still thankful you're still amongst us.

My thoughts exactly....  no time for games.. be yourself.... I'll make sure you get more than a Peanutbutter Jelly sandwich! 

[Paxton]

Willow;
I enjoyed your thoughts and insight. I am glad to hear your improvement is progressing well.

After my own 28 December accident landed me 5 days in the ICU, yesterday I was finally able to go downstairs
into my garage. While there, I sat on the Gold Wing, started her and rode it back and forth inside my cave.
She came through the axdnt with "flying colors."

Back to you, I sincerely hope you'd come out to SoCal some day soon. Of course, bring your better half.
While here, you might use my Wing for two-up or my standard for Solo. Ride them like you stole them!

Be good to yourself. Always.

Paxton.

RIDE SAFE... no pun intended.

[ugelstad]

Great to hear you are doing well.  Sounds like your accident made you an Engineer.  No filter and opinionated.  You should try designing something.

[maelstrom]

Hey Carl : Thanks for sharing your thoughtful words, they struck a chord = especially the phrase of "complete frankness". That seems to be what I tend to live by, so I guess I qualify as being an asshole too. I just can't find any comfort in 'playing games' as some feel necesssary to elevate their status, or whatever purpose they try to achieve. 'Tell it like is' has always been my motto - like you said, if you can live with it , that's fine - if not, that's your problem!!
  I have to admit that I was unaware of the 'incident' and it's outcome, so again, thanks for sharing, glad you're doing well, catch ya later, bro !!

[Karen]

Thanks, Carl, it seems like it's just you being yourself, only more so. Lori deserves a medal. I'm dealing with dementia here on the home front, and being less filtered seems to be common to brain injuries, whether acute or chronic. No rides are possible under these circumstances, but I think of you & Lori frequently and fondly, and have hopes of meeting with you again sometime in the future. Prayers for your continued improvement and enjoyment of what is here now.