Lost

What is a Curmudgeon anyway?







A curmudgeon's reputation for malevolence is undeserved. They're

neither warped nor evil at heart. They don't hate mankind, just mankind's

absurdities. They're just as sensitive and soft-hearted as the next guy, but

they hide their vulnerability beneath a crust of misanthropy. They ease the

pain by turning hurt into humor. . . . . . They attack maudlinism because

it devalues genuine sentiment. . . . . . Nature, having failed to equip

them with a servicable denial mechanism, has endowed them with astute

perception and sly wit.

Curmudgeons are mockers and debunkers whose bitterness is a symptom

rather than a disease. They can't compromise their standards and can't

manage the suspension of disbelief necessary for feigned cheerfulness. Their

awareness is a curse.

Perhaps curmudgeons have gotten a bad rap in the same way that the

messenger is blamed for the message: They have the temerity to comment on

the human condition without apology. They not only refuse to applaud

mediocrity, they howl it down with morose glee. Their versions of the truth

unsettle us, and we hold it against them, even though they soften it with

humor.



- JON WINOKUR

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