Tinka

I have an aunt who lives in the great city of Louisville, KY with my uncle Bud, who I suspect is a curmudgeon.  I must confess that I wasn't even sure what a curmudgeon was until I was working the other day. 

My customer and I were discussing the change in personality that occurs as we age (well, you have to do something to make repairing a crack in a ceiling interesting.)  I commented that I could already feel it coming - I was going to be a grumpy old man.  It runs in the family, on my mother's side.

After a few moments of thought, my customer says "You will never be a curmudgeon."  After I asked her to define the word, her definition of which eludes me at the moment, I explained to her that she only sees my best side, and is mistaken about the fate of my old age personality.

Jump back to this post (this is a stream of consciousness sort of post, just for the record).  As I began this post about Tinka, my uncle appears in the sentence, and the word curmudgeon bursts forth onto the page, completely out of my control.  Out of respect, I look up the exact definition of the word so as not to slander his good name.

This is what I found.  I copied it directly off of this web page.  It is a quote from Jon Winokur:

"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 serviceable 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."

Having read this, I realized that by this definition, the word fits my uncle perfectly. 

I also realized that I am probably a blossoming curmudgeon as well.  This is actually a great relief, as I have been thinking I was chronically depressed.  Now I realize that instead, I'm just one of these.



So, here is the actual meat of this post.  Tinka had a store in Louisville a while back.  This story ran in the newspaper. 

Tinka is the perfect balance for a curmudgeon.  She is the exact opposite in personality, which, fortunately for Bud, is what keeps him from completely losing his mind.