Day 15 - Being Yourself

So today I met a couple of people that I thought were interesting.

First, Mark and I met a man who is surely a multi-millionaire. He owns two shopping centers in two nice areas of Fresno. He has owned one of them since 1969. And I'm not talking ghetto centers. I mean nice, good, successful shopping centers. So, why was I so impressed with this man? First, he was meeting with us personally to show us a couple of spaces he had open in his centers. He rolled up to our appointment in a beat up red early 90's pick up. I am guessing there was no A/C because his window was rolled down in this heat! The paint was totally faded and actually completely gone in spots. He hops out of his truck and is wearing a purple t-shirt and shorts. I don't know, something about this guy just struck me as cool. As we began to talk he got even cooler. He just seemed like some regular old guy - like he lives on social security and a little pension from some job that he had for thirty years. He was generous with his time and modest except for when I inquired as to if he had children, which he then bragged on. Anyway, he was just really neat. There was not a pretentious bone in his body.

The second interesting person I met today was a - well, I guess she was a transvestite? I can't say for sure if there had been operations or whatnot. Perhaps she was simply a cross-dresser. It was somebody who is or was a dude who was dressed like a lady (enter appropriate Aerosmith hook here). She was nice and was looking for wine for a party. She was dressed like a housewife from another time; like a sitcom mom. Florence Henderson might even be too modern. Think June Cleaver. But part of what was so striking, other than her general friendliness and 5 o'clock shadow, was a manly looking tattoo on her forearm peeking out from under the short sleeve of her delicate printed pink blouse. I was desperately trying not to be distracted by all of the contradictions that seemed to pull together and co-exist in harmony on this very intriguing person.

The third person that I spent some time with today was my brother. When we were teenagers he learned how to play guitar. He would play songs that we knew back then and I would sing. It was always fun. Once we were both married I ended up taking a guitar class through Fresno Adult School. I learned a few basic chords and from then on I have enjoyed messing around with the guitar from time to time. I am no good AT ALL but, my real goal was never really to play well, it was just to learn to play well enough to sing along. About 6 or 7 years ago I wrote a song. Most of my family has heard it but somehow Ted had not. So, tonight he came over and I played my song for him. In return, he played two of his songs - well really two and a half - for me! They were fabulous! I feel really fortunate to be one of two or three people who have heard them.

It's really difficult sharing not only your voice with someone, but also sharing music you have written. Writing songs can be sort of a private thing. It's really hard to lay something out there and say, "I wrote this and I like it." Sometimes when I start messing around with songs I think, "Blah, this is so cheesy and bad", and I quit. So, inspired by this evening, I may see if I can come up with a new song or two for him to play.

My point with these three stories is that there are some people who try and hide who they are. Worse yet, there are some people who try to intentionally deceive you. But, my favorite kind of person is an authentic person: someone who is open and honest about who they are, what they do, what they hope to do, and who they hope to become. All three of these people were laying it all out there for me today. The millionaire seemed to be doing what came easy and naturally to him. The transvestite probably had some sense of courage that many of us can't even fathom having. And my brother who has an open and honest character tonight demonstrated a subtle courage needed to share something very personal like music.

So today I am thankful for all of those who have the courage to be open to our crazy world and the people in it!