Wednesday, 5/25

Did you know that, against all odds, I’m apparently a gentleman?

While going through a few drawers in my office getting ready for next week I came across a list from a couple of years ago. I had always meant to write about it, but as far as I can tell, I never actually got around to doing it.

Until, apparently, now.

The list, which comes from the website Tres Sugar, contains everything it takes to make one a true gentleman for the 21^st century, and I, for some bizarre reason, fit each and every definition.

I don’t know whether to be proud or scared, but here’s the list of what makes on a perfect modern-day gentleman--

1. He is news savvy

2. He doesn't overuse Facebook or other social media

3. He dresses up without borrowing

4. You can take him anywhere

5. He recommends books

6. He tips well

7. He pays you back

8. He doesn't talk about exes

9. He can cook dinner

10. He holds the door

11. He is kind to women -- and men

12. He's not perfect, and he knows it

I especially like the last one, as how it fits me to a “T”!

8-)

When a (female) friend told me about the list a couple of years ago and I printed it out, I had to laugh. I mean, I don’t think of myself as a “gentleman”; I think of myself as someone who merely tries to behave himself and treat others with respect. These days, I guess that makes someone a “gentleman”, unlike the old days, when gentleman was someone who, I dunno, wore a top hat everywhere and knew which fork to use with which portion of a meal.

Thinking about it, though, I can see where my friend was right. Everywhere you go, you see guys dressed up (or, more to the point, dressed down) in dirty T-shirts and baseball hats, ignoring their companions while watching You Tube videos of people smacking each other in a sensitive area and speaking (too loudly) on a cell phone. I mean, that’s just not right. It’s not polite, and it’s showing whoever you’re with a basic lack of courtesy. Has the bar fallen so low that just being a good and polite person means you’re now a “gentleman”?

If true, that’s a little scary.

So, at least for this time & place, I’m apparently a “gentleman”. It’s a title that I’m not 100% comfortable with, because it doesn’t seem to be a title that would be hard to achieve. It’s just kind of sad that it’s a title to which more guys don’t aspire.

Sigh...

(jim@wmqt.com)