“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” (Guess who?)

Asked to describe me in one word, my wife of 20 years once said “Quirky”. And I agree.
The aforementioned wife believes my refusal to react or get angry when she is mad too is me showing indifference. Perhaps it is.
People who have had the misfortune of inviting me for lunch or dinner has often called my practice of handwriting a full page of thank you letter in a monogrammed envelope “too formal”. And I think they might be right.
Certainly my practice of showing up to parties on time and leaving by 9:30 – often skipping dinner is considered “weird”. And it is.
Getting up at the crack of dawn, running because I want to, calling my mom every single day of my life, wishing 1500 people “Happy Birthday” in a year on their birthdays (and I sometimes mess up the dates 🙂 ), digging up friends from my elementary school days, date nights every Sunday (with my wife, of course; else it would be “weird” 🙂 ), showing up at Durga Pujo in shorts …….
I have often asked myself why do I have to be difficult and different?
I have seriously struggled to answer “Who am I”? and what prompts me not to go in with the crowd…..

Read an eloquent poem by Linda Ellis (1996) thanks to my good friend Samaresh. Now I am hoping against hopes that this is why I am so weird and different 🙂 Anyways, it is a good read…

“I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone,
from the beginning…to the end.
He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own,
the cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.
So, think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
to consider what’s true and real
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.
So, when your eulogy is being read,
with your life’s actions to rehash…
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent YOUR dash?”