The Bane of Intelligence

It's hard for me to believe that this coming November I will be at this 'gig' as the Cable Guy for twenty years. If I estimate conservatively, I have met 20,000 people during that time. Meeting all those people has certainly taught me a lot about people in general; a lot about myself as well.

Those people that know me best will know what I am about to write is somewhat tongue-in-cheek but also just me telling the truth as I see it. To those that don't know me I hope it doesn't come off as 'arrogant' as it really is not intended that way. I haven't written it yet; we'll have to see where it goes and hope for the best. wink

Some years ago I returned to the office from a pretty typical day out-on-the-road making house-calls in Amishland. I forget exactly what had transpired that day. I parked the van in the garage and walked into the office to return my completed paperwork. I smiled at the woman that takes the paperwork and said, 'Ya know what? After all these years on the job I finally realized something today.' She asked, 'What's that?'

I replied, 'You remember when you were in elementary school and they gave you those standardized tests?' She said, 'Yes.' I went on, 'well, I realized today that when they said back then I was in the 93rd percentile; they were right.' It might have taken me fifteen or more years to figure it out but there are a LOT of dumb people out there. She laughed and was funny as I'm sure she really didn't really know what to say. For me it really was a sort of epiphany as all I ever really strived for was to be 'average;' just like everybody else. Somehow, I was finally convinced; I wasn't.

God bless the women in the office. They are the ones that get hit with whatever's been on my mind during the day as I drive from place-to-place. They are my primary contact with the office; they are the ones that pick up the phone on our office 'hotline.'

One day, some years after realizing that maybe I really was smarter-than-average; I walked into the office at the end of the day and told them my conclusion. I told them I had concluded that intelligence is a 'curse.' They asked, 'What do you mean, it's a 'curse?''

I smiled and said, 'I'll tell you. Intelligence is a 'curse' because dumb people don't know how dumb other people are. To them, they are just 'normal.' Smart people can tell the difference. Hence, it's a curse. It must be nice to go around thinking some of these people are 'okay.'' I told them, 'Think about it.' Of course, I told them this when there were none of our local dumb people around and know what? They knew I was correct. wink

That's the voice of twenty years experience working with the public here in Amishland. I suppose; once again, it's that 'cultural' thing. I live here; I am not 'from' here. Probably one huge reason going to the city is like a 'breath-of-fresh-air' for the guy who lives in the country. Many thanks to my friends.

Hope all's well with everyone. The sun here is feeling better everyday.
I saw my first blooming crocuses today; Spring really is on the way.

Take care. Have fun.