THAT'S THE KIND OF GUY I AM

      One time, I met a fellow with the irritating habit of telling me what kind of guy he was.  He would say something such as, “I don’t like people who tell lies,” then add, “That’s the kind of guy I am.”  Or, he would say, “I believe in always paying my bills---that’s the kind of guy I am.”  I wondered at the time why this habit irritated me so much, and why it got on my nerves so very quickly.  Sometime later, I realized it bothered me because I grew up on the High Plains.

      The panhandle of Texas is wide open country.  The air is clean, the skies are clear and, as a friend says, “You can see farther out here than you can point.”  I never understood what he meant by that, but I like the way it sounds, and it makes me think.  With this high, clean air and flat, open land comes friendly, honest, open-faced people.  They don’t know how to lie and most are simply the “what you see is what you get” type.

      Because of this background, I like to decide for myself “what kind of guy” I’m dealing with.  I like to spend some time with people and see how they act and react to things and let them get acquainted with me and see how I react to things.  I like to see what makes them laugh and what makes them cry.  I don’t need someone telling me how they are because they may not tell the truth.  I’ll discover what I need to know about people without any help.  They can figure out me the same way.  I’m not going to tell them a whole lot, but if they are around very much, I’m not all that hard to understand.

     I mistrust folks who try to tell me what to think about anything, especially about themselves.  There is a sort of wide-eyed Gee Whiz attitude that comes built-in with people from the High Plains and some people have been known to take advantage of that.  After this happens a few times, the Plainsman becomes suspicious, perhaps even a bit cynical.  When some stranger says, “I always pay my bills, that’s the kind of guy I am,” you can bet I’m not going to loan him any money.

Sunset in West Texas by Dr. Jerry McLaughlin

     I started this web log to get some of my thoughts out there and to let people know about my part of Texas.  To do that , pictures would be nice.  Because I’m not that good with a camera, let me tell you about someone who is:  Google “Wyman Meinzer—West Texas” and see my part of Texas.  Wyman obviously loves that part of the world as much as I do and he can take pictures. 

     I think I’ve been a good ambassador for West Texas, because several dozen people have sent me a link to this video with the comment, “When I saw this I thought of you.”  I am honored.  That’s the kind of guy I am.

                                                   Jim McLaughlin