Intellectual
2005-03-09, 9:36 a.m.

Leave me a note, here!

intellectual<adj. 1. Of, relating to, or engaging the intellect. 2. Given to use of intellect: inclined to rational or creative thought. (according to Webster�s II: New Riverside Dictionary.

As a general rule, people who call themselves intellectuals get on my last freaking nerve. Let�s not get me wrong: I love a smart person. I love intelligence. I get excited by someone who can use a word I have to look up. I get charged by people who *think* things through and who do not have knee-jerk reactions. According to a test I once took, I have an IQ of 124, which isn�t bad, sweetpeas. However, I do not call myself an intellectual. I do not wish to be one. I do not want to read books written in English that I have to translate. If it�s in �old English� I�m not going to read it. Even if I�d like the story if I did. I read for pleasure. If I want to improve my mind, there are other ways to do it. I think Shakespeare is largely irrelevant. Who the hell cares? Just because something is old does not make it good or even �better than.� I can�t stand snippy people who try to �philosophize� and who act superior for whatever reason. I like music and books and theater and television that appeals to me not that meets some arbitrary standard of �good.� If I like it, it�s good. Or at least good enough.

I once had a woman tell me I �didn�t have an educated palate� because I didn�t like her fucking spaghetti sauce. Listen up, Ms Ex-Asshole-of-Mine, I hate zucchini. I�m not ever going to like it and it has nothing to do with my palate at all. Besides, she was a fast food restaurant manager, not a gourmet chef. And she fancied herself an intellectual. Of course, I�ve harbored a grudge against that woman for *years*. Apart from The Zucchini Incident.

Until I heard my friend, Da Diva, sing, I�d have told you I hated opera, too. It�s true that I have no idea what they are saying since the songs are usually in Italian or something. But � if you close your eyes and just *listen*, with your heart as well as your ears, it�s beautiful. Of course, I think that what I *really* hate is the pretentiousness that goes along with most opera fans. Now, I�m never going to be a season ticket holder to Opera Grand Rapids Still, I can appreciate the beauty of it without resorting to wearing all black, drinking whatever is The It Drink of the Moment and talking badly about all the people who listen to plebian music.

Here�s what I am. A regular ol� person. And that�s what I want to be. I have my idiosyncrasies but I don�t aspire to be among the �elite�. I WANT to be regular. I want to be a good mate, a good mom and a good friend. I want to have close family relationships. I want to make a difference in the world � but I plan to do it in *my* corner of the world. I want to enjoy my life without worrying about what other people think. And I do. I�m not a complex person though I have a complex world. I�m pretty simple to figure out but my �story� may take you some time. And thought. Most people do not want to be thoughtful about other people. They�ll think for hours about this or that World Crisis and What They Would Do About It but they won�t spend five minutes thinking about what make their child/partner/sister/whomever feel incredibly special and valued. Most people don�t want to understand � they want you to understand them.

Now, I�m not an intellect-phobe. If you like that stuff, so be it. Good for you. Just, please, stop trying to act as if your way is the only way and if someone disagrees with you that they are hopeless.