A reader said I exaggerated the characters in the first Duh, making them look like stereotypical hicks. The reader is partly correct. Toothless really only has a partial upper plate. In the small locker room before and after he takes out the plate, puts it in a pink, plastic box, and clicks the box closed. I shouldn’t have to detail he did the reverse after his workouts. Why? Next time I see him I’ll ask and get back to everyone.

Comb over guy didn’t really have a comb-over. He just parted his hair starting at the top of his left ear and “styled” it all the way over to the top of his right ear. I’m told the style is called a Mid-Life Fade. It is not a difficult look to maintain (at least for a few moments) and in the locker room he was always pleased with himself after checking out the mirror. If there was an overhead mirror he might have thought differently.

There are probably many handsome, hirsute-y, intellectuals out there who might act the same, but the stereotype of who believes what he/she/them read on the internet is a meme because of anecdotal facts, not conjecture, in my world. (Note: anecdotal facts are the worst kind). The people I encounter who affirm publicly they are smarter than they are, are people who don’t have enough sense to take care of themselves, their teeth, their hairstyles, and their general outlook on the world. Sadly, this character–and his/her/them proclamations– have become the norm, especially in political courts of both colors. I say both colors to be fair, buy my own experience is with republicans/conservatives who are always right about a certain individual. No matter what. (See previous GMGA piece from last year.)

But it is a bad meme. I’ve known countless eccentrics, hillbillies, lazy-asses, and people who simply didn’t care how they look who were intelligent and humble more than normal. It is true you can’t tell a book by its cover, but it’s probably true, too, a bad cover probably represents a bad book.

Sorry I got lost on this…just tired. But if you ever want to proclaim in public how smart you are and how much more you know than anyone else, don’t.