My new policy revolves around brutal honesty, dusted with playful deceit, and cemented with trust and understanding. It’s actually a policy my boss (Gloria) and I have been practicing ever since we got married. It’s pretty neat, wanna know more? Sure you do.

The first thing you have to do, is know that some people won’t appreciate or understand that you’re being honest is sincere. Believe it or not, some people would rather be lied to than know the truth and be hurt. Explain that one. Honesty is a good thing, and I don’t understand, to save my life, why more people don’t tell it like it is. Tell me I’m a jerk, when I’m a jerk. I really do want to know. Remember, the trick to learning and growing is to get over the shock-factor as fast as you can, and add that experience to your arsenal of common sense. For instance: Remember a time that you did something so embarrassing that you though you would die in shame. An experience that really hurt your ego. Does it seem a little funny now? Sure it does. That’s because our minds turn pain into a learning experience by attaching a humility factor to it. Somebody wipes out horribly (on America’s Funniest Videos) and we laugh hysterically. It must have hurt, but most of the time, they’re laughing too.

I know that there is a time to be cautious, but for goodness sake, if someone asks for your honest opinion, I think that’s an invitation to give it.

So, I try to be brutally honest, but I’ll lie on the turn of a dime if it will help the other person out. Isn’t that terrible? I haven’t figured that part out yet, but to date, it’s been a very successful strategy. I surely would not lie to the point of hurting someone, but if an appropriate fib will ease a situation, sure I skydive, and I love whirl of a good rollercoaster too.

Finally, you’ve gotta be good enough at the first two parts to instill the trust factor. If people just don’t trust you, then you have nothing. A man’s reputation is built on his actions and how his peers view them. Which lastly brings me to my ultimate goal, understanding. All I really want in life is to understand. I don’t really care if people understand me. It’s more important that I understand them. It’s just that I’m generally clueless, and if you help me to understand, I’ll be eternally grateful. Because, you see, understanding is the stepping stone to wisdom.

Enjoy this 50’s issue, it was a real blast to put together. Thanks.