Deal Us In

[H2O Man]

25. I've learned to accept

that I don't always fit in. Heaven knows I try ....I really do.

For example, way long ago, when part of my job duties included working with wayward youth, I attended a school meeting with one teen-aged boy, who was prone to disruption at home, in school, and in the community. But at this meeting, the experts noted that he had been doing better in recent times. When asked, the kid attributed that change to my influence.

After the meeting ended, the school's psychologist came over to me, and said, "I know what you are all about. I used to be the same way. You don't believe society's rules apply to you. Just look at the way you are dressed."

I had on blue jeans, a white shirt & tie, a suit coat, and white sneakers. I'll admit that Beatle John Lennon had influenced my choices in dressing up. But his words weighed heavily upon my mind. I was determined, if I was ever to attend another meeting with this psychologist present, that I'd wear two neck ties. Would you agree, Friend Zorra, that two ties would have been a display of conformity? A salute to tradition?