• I don’t understand people who don’t have opinions. It’s great to be neutral, but don’t be vanilla. Opinions form you from a blob of clay into a describable shape. The worst kind of a person is one who is highly opinionated and never speaks up. Outside they are shape shifters but inside they are rigid angles and sharp edges. They only share opinions in fits of anger like erupting volcanoes.

• I don’t understand the ‘watchers’ who only criticize and never DO anything. It’s easy to sit and watch and to express those opinions if you have them. That’s the success of broadcast media, right? If you think there is a better way to do something, then take ownership of it and do it. That includes volunteering. Don’t sit on the sidelines and tell everyone else how it could be done better–unless you are the manager.

• I don’t understand people who call themselves great writers because they say things with many more words than it takes. Just say what it is. A “peephole” after all does not need to be “a small aperture on the door for viewing.” Maybe it’s that my degree is in advertising and I was trained that there is always one word that will say it better than 50–even if the word does not exist yet. Coin a phrase or celebrate an old expression, but don’t drag on and on and on … and on. Crisp copy does not read like drivel in a romance novel. At least not in my opinion.

• I don’t understand people who always offer analogies. Everything does not need an analogy, and certainly not bad ones. For instance here’s a bad one I just read, “Asking if you can help someone is like asking to share a sandwich.” Huh? Giving analogies when they aren’t necessary is like giving a drowning man–well, a sandwich.

• I don’t understand how some people think that disagreement is somehow personal. If I am not seeing the same thing that you see when I look through a kaleidoscope that doesn’t have anything to do with you. I have a word for these people: ARROGANT. It is completely arrogant to think that every opinion someone shares actually has something to do with you. If you offer your sandwich to me and I really hate the deviled ham that you smeared on Wonder bread and politely say, “no thank you,” that is not a reflection of you. If I share my opinion that people who like deviled ham on white bread probably also eat paste on cardboard and give bad analogies, then sure, be offended.

• I do understand, however, a messy family room, kids laughing until they hiccup, the need for a few minutes of quiet time, bonding with girlfriends over a few drinks, that stupid movies are really funny, and that understanding friends and family makes life wonderful.