THE GOOD LIFE

I was brought up to honor all people and nourish my sense of wonder and curiosity -- and I do.
But when this woman with faded teal polyester and bad hair and a bloody mary became nasty to me at the table tonight in a free pub poker tournament -- what can I do?
Life will give you all the bullshit you choose to honor.
I can honor the polyester and the hair, I guess -- and maybe even the bloody mary -- damn -- I'm curious how drinking a bloody mary at 11pm could possibly be honorable at all. I can honor a lot.
But her criticism of me is unacceptable.
I honor all people. Just because she's human, that doesn't make her a person. Personhood must be earned. I'm curious what the level of that bar is -- I wonder if she's there yet. And when I'm curious about what cards she's holding, I may well look at her and ask her, "What cards are you holding?" That's what I did tonight -- it was the best I can do to satisfy my curiosity.
And the best that she could do is call me a jackass. Well, I truly am a jackass. World class, in fact. She's so right. I live on my own terms -- pretty much -- and because of my lack of attachments and obligations, I don't have to answer to anyone at all, much less some drunken teratogeness sitting across a poker table from me. My freedom is not some curious fluke -- it's a plan. And if I should ever change that plan and get some sort of overseer, be assured that whomever it might be -- they won't need to lose a lot of weight.
Sometimes I see a fat woman and wonder whether the fat is permanent or temporary. I didn't get a straightforward answer when I asked her. I guess I have to be around her long enough to find out, or channel my curiosity elsewhere.