TexasCHLforum.com

A long time ago I participated in what would now be a forum such as this, an e-mail server type arrangement for some of us with a common interest. One of the participants was unusually active, had an opinion on everything, had done everything, and knew everything it seemed, quite obnoxious. Being a lot younger and full of it, I called him out time and again where he was noticeably wrong and after a spell we got into it so often and on so many things, it got pretty undignified. This went on for quite a while, taunting, ridiculing, etc. I wasn't the only one who did this, of course but was an active participant. I thought this guy was the most southern end of the biggest north bound horse that ever lived, and was not shy about acting accordingly.

Well, one day, I had occasion to fly into this fellow's area, and there was a Saturday breakfast of the locals in our group, so I made arrangements to attend. Who shows up but this fellow. Oh, brother!, I thought, but after we had an all you can eat breakfast and told our stories and discussed things, it turned out I was just as wrong about him as he was about me. He had always acted like he knew everything and, while he was wrong about that, he knew a great deal about a lot of things, far more than most, actually. We eventually revised our opinions of each other and before long, he had a chance to help me out with a very involved project and did so unhesitatingly. We ended up corresponding back and forth privately for many years in high camaraderie. Last I heard he was in declining health and may have passed on by now.

Judging others is always tricky, but doing so on the basis of these posts etc. is fraught with difficulties.