Just…Wow!

I still recall when I first learned I was a pompous ass—an overheard remark passed from a young lady I’d been trying to impress to her friend.

“Just…wow!  He’s so full of himself!”

Had I not stopped unexpectedly to tie a shoelace, out of view, I’d never have learned my efforts to ingratiate myself were unappreciated.

Even worse, mocked!

My first instinct was to reject the unwelcome revelation, and I never did win over that winsome lass.  But that failure forced me to re-examine my manner, I suppose, and I’ve been happily married for fifty-some years to a lovely lady who, blessedly, didn’t share that opinion.

Nevertheless, I do concede that I am indeed full of myself sometimes—but only because I’ve been so wildly successful in life.  And I do occasionally imagine what that young lady would think of me now.

Just…wow!

_{© J. Bradley Burt 2023}