The Short List

I only look to one person for advice, my wife. She is the only person who really knows me and what’s best for me. Anyone else who offers advice gets a polite nod and if I think it’s possibly useful I will consult Janet. Having a group of people who offer advice is confusing and unnecessary as far as I am concerned. I’m all for streamlining the process and by relying on one person for advice I can do that.

When I was younger I took advice from friends and family, and the result was a total mess! They were offering advice to me based on the person they thought I was rather than who I actually was because I was presenting a mask to society in order to try and fit in. The real person is really only known to my wife and that’s the way I intend it to stay. I don’t need advice from any other source and, in general, I don’t need friends in the way I did when I was younger. That’s just as well as life has caused us to drift apart and lose touch, except for Christmas cards in a few isolated cases, so maybe I am trying to make the best of the situation. It’s sometimes nice to reflect on times, places and people who I once knew, but I am aware that in probably 90% of cases they would be no more than sociable and polite if we were to meet up because we would, in all likelihood, mean very little to each other after such a long time apart.