Mr. Fancy Pants

By: Amy Marcle

About eight years ago, I sat in my new office attempting to
learn the lingo for the business I had just hired into.  To gain entry into the remaining part of the office, you had to get by me.  As
gatekeeper, I had learned to figure out who was allowed in without an
appointment and who I needed to turn away. 

One morning, I hear gravel spinning in the parking lot outside my
window.  I look up and see a blue convertible rolling into the parking spot right outside the front door.  The top was down and I’m not sure if I was
jealous because it was a gorgeous sunny day and I was stuck inside, or if I was just annoyed at the fact of who climbed out of the car.  In walked a guy who walked with what I considered such arrogance, that I was instantly pissed off.  “Who is this guy?,” I thought as he pulled on the locked door inside the entryway.  “Is boss man here?”  I explained that I
needed to know his reason for wanting to meet with my boss before I could
permit him to enter the rest of the facility. 
“Oh, gosh, tell him I’m here.” 
Still not knowing who he was, I reluctantly opened the door and allowed
him back to the office where my boss was. 
They greeted each other like old chums, so I assumed his being there was
permitted.  I could not get past the attitude that filled the air when
he waltzed in demanding special treatment. 
And it irritated me even more when I glanced down and saw him wearing
loafers with no socks.  Mercy.  Who did this guy thank he was?  I laugh at it now, because I honestly hate the thought of wearing socks myself. 
But, at the time all I could do was refer to him as Mr. Fancy Pants.  Turns out Mr. Fancy Pants operated a marketing business that
printed promotional materials for our company as well as many other companies in town.  If you had a business card, a
coffee mug, a company tee shirt, or a ball cap with a logo on it…chanced are it come from Mr. Fancy Pants.  The products he carried and the service he provided was top notch.  But, for some reason his confidence bothered
me tremendously.  The only logical explanation for me to dislike him so much was because I had never been able to be that confident in myself.  On the
outside, I always appeared confident, but deep inside, that was a different
place where belief in myself never resided. 
Simply, I was jealous of his confidence. Each time Mr. Fancy Pants stopped by the office, I would do
my best to avoid him or I would cut my conversations extremely short.  It was uncomfortable for me to be around people who believed in themselves so much.  I coveted that same energy, but could not find it.  As time went on, I actually started having conversations with this man when he would drop off products at our office.  I learned more and more about him each time
he visited us, and believe it or not, I grew to like him.  I appreciated his attention to our conversations.  I went from mailing his checks and not giving two craps if he ever got his payment or not to hand
delivering them to his office, just so I could enjoy our conversations.To put it simply, I completely misinterpreted this man’ s
character solely because of his sports car and his choice to not wear
socks.  Stupid as it sounds, there was no other reason for me not to like this salesman who had become a friend.  I went from avoiding his calls to calling him to place orders.  I went from calling him Mr. Fancy Pants behind his back to lifting his name up in prayer when he was diagnosed with cancer.  Yes, Mr. Fancy Pants has beaten cancer at least twice that I know of.  However, he has never let his diagnosis bring him down, continuing to work and be active in the community.  I went from wishing he would not stop by the
office to texting him Get Well Wishes during his treatments.  I went from being annoyed by him to being proud when he won Man of the Year for the city. 
I wanted to share this turnaround of a story because oftentimes we misjudge people.  Whether we are rubbed wrong during a first encounter or gossip we hear from other people, we form opinions about people before we get to know them at all.  During my continuous struggles with recovery, I have come to
realize that people I wrongfully judged in my past are people with feelings
too.  I learned to sympathize with other addicts regardless their drug of choice, because I know understood how it can completely turn your life upside down.  I no longer saw people as “troubled”  or “crazy” or “dopehead” or “alcoholic.”  I saw them as someone’s son or daughter, maybe someone’s wife or husband, maybe a sister or brother, and always one of God’s children.  It’s easy to judge people when you don’t know their story.  We often do not take the time to learn about people and give them a chance to share with us why they are the way they are.  I have always heard the adage
“when you point fingers at someone else, you have three pointing back at
you.” 

Had I not gotten the chance to know Mr. Fancypants, I would
have missed out on getting to know a great person who I respect and
admire.  His battles prove that no matter
how confident you are, you still are not immune to life’s difficulties.  But by handling them with grace and strength,
you do become an example to others.