Different Guys

I’m a pretty sociable guy in the sense that I seem to be able to get along pretty well with most people. There are really only a few kinds of guys out there, and I seem to have at least one or two things in common with most of them. For example, I can talk to the sports-guy about basketball, tennis, and the Olympics. I can talk to the heavy-metal-guy about Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. I can talk to the academic-guy about literature, and science. I can talk to the outdoors-guy about fishing and backpacking. I can even talk to the depressed-guy about The Man.

But, a few months ago I found myself in a room with a cowboy-guy. Now, not only do I have nothing against the cowboy-guys, I actually think they are generally great and admirable people. However, I have found out that I have absolutely nothing in common with them whatsoever. When I’m with a cowboy-guy we just sit there and look at each other awkwardly. The conversation often goes like this: I say something stupid like, “Yeah, Holsteins kick butt, but when the chips are down I’ll take an Angus every time.” Then he’s like, “Really, why’s that?” And I’m like, “Huh?” Then he says, “I said, why’s that?” Then I’m like, “You say something?” Then he’s like, “Yeah. Why do you like Angus’s so much more than Holsteins?” Then I say, “OK, you called my bluff. I want my mommy.” It’s honestly the worst conversation imaginable.

So, one of my two New Year's resolutions is to get some topics under my belt so I can have conversations with the cowboy-guys. I'll let you know how it goes.