What matters

 Good morning,

I've been thinking about the nature of friendship and maybe what makes a decent one.  My friends are a diverse, eclectic bunch.  Some of them are professionals, others blue collar tough farmer types, and a few, like me, are in the middle.  Willing to work hard, on a project or learn something from some folks who are less educated or interact with folks who may be a little uncouth.  I'm not sure exactly where I fit there, as I have always been outside most social circles.  I'm not quite a typical Winstedian, in that I have higher income and more education.  That's not to be snobby - it's the truth according to the median income.  I wish the town wasn't as impoverished but it is a low income place.  I'm not a typical Batesie either - the average income of the parents there was astronomical because the cost of attendance was more than a teacher's yearly salary, for reference.  I got to attend because I got scholarships and my family was generous (extended and nuclear).  In many ways, in many circles, I have always been an outsider.  Too white collar for blue  collar Winsted, too poor for the standard Bates educated person.  Too philosophical and interested in emotion for most guys - who'd rather talk about football than feelings of philosophy.  Too farmer-y for the typical white collar person, too white collar for the typical farmer.  Going back to high school, i was too musical for the athletes, too athletic for the musicians, and too smart and dorky for most teachers or other students to deal with.  So instead I felt like I never fit.  I still don't, I suppose.

Anyway all of this to say - I haven't fit in, but I think I've found a few kindred spirits.  My book club has several folks who, like me, are iconoclasts.  My new(ish) friend David is also delightfully weird - I get memes and cultural references, but we also talk about big ideas and philosophical standpoints.  And chickens, always chickens.  Sometimes hiking and camping gear.  He's open to experience in a way that I'm not used to - and willing and able to share his too.  I'm not sure of this, but I'd hazard a guess that he's not fit in typical male bonding situations either.