Beech Tree News Network

Recently I saw the admonition “practice openness.” I suppose the definition of openness would be “it is the opposite of put-on.” Once I asked a young woman what her cousin was doing now.

“Puttin’-on I guess,” was her answer.

She was about right-on. When you saw the cousin, you felt she was always acting, with her fake accent and her non-sincerity.

Years ago, Bett and I attended a banquet meeting. The food was good. For all practical purposes we could have all gone home after the meal. The after-dinner speaker was a DVD. He droned on for over an hour like a bumble bee in a jar and said little worth hearing. He missed several good opportunities to quit but didn’t take them. A young couple sat across from us. She finally leaned her head on her husband’s shoulder and fell asleep.

On the way home my wife said the young wife was one of those “real people.” No puttin’-on there. In other words, a person of openness.

I went to high school with a girl who was very cute but not a drop-dead beauty. Her openness made up for it. Because of her open personality, all the boys fell in love with her. She never lacked for male attention. What you see is what you get.

I’m told she later a Lexington lawyer. His name was Maryland.

Some people show openness by their own nature. Maryland did. It was natural. That was why she was so likeable. We forget many people-not Maryland.

Kindest Regards…