Hard Exterior or Soft (Tired) Inside

10.14.1950

 To me, Snoopy will never be a killer. Even though he rides a Sopwith Camel as a WWI Flying Ace, he shares his doghouse with little yellow birds, one of whom is his friend, and the rest are in his Scouting troop. I think it's funny that after this boy tells this girl that Snoopy has a fierce gleam in his eye, one that comes from a long line of killers; the girl surprises him by telling him that Snoopy has fallen asleep.

I think, overall, even if someone has a hard exterior, they really don't aren't as bad as we think. I remember as a young boy, I had been playing in the little neighborhood called Wyview Terrrace at BYU in Provo. There was this long street that had a hill, and behind the apartments there was grass and walkways that led to the apartment doors. These places were always so much fun to play in and one day as I was playing I noticed little flags of different colors, some orange and some blue, in the lawns marking something. Well, what I didn't know was these flags were marking sprinklers and that I would be delighted that same day to meet the sprinkler man. I don't remember his name to this day, but I do know that he treated me very nicely and at the end of our conversation, he offered me a little flag to play with of my own. How delighted I was to have a flag and to have made a friend of someone who didn't need to give me the time of day. People are generally good.

Dear Sir, dear Life,

I wonder if there has ever been a time that I have appeared hard-shelled to someone who didn't know me. If my impression was one of that of "Please don't talk to me, I have a fierce gleam in my eye." If so, that isn't something that I want to keep up. I always want to be approachable, as well as someone who is open to be talked to and loving to all those out there.

If I am hard with you, I want there to be a reason (and, hopefully, a really good one).

Your Almost Never Hard Friend,
The Marcie in Me

*******

Has there been a time where you had a hard exterior, when you really wanted to appear as open and approachable? Are there people in your lives with hard exteriors that are really soft on the inside?

*******

Stay Tuned...

A hop, skip and a jump to a botched attempt. Poor Snoopy.