Being unlikable

Last Friday, I was reminded of how unlikeable I can be. I wanted to go to a support group at the Shoal Creek Hospital, and Christina agreed to go. We'd found the group helpful before.

I thought someone was saying that only one aspect, one mode of behavior, was "real." Like, "I want the real you to come back" or "You weren't the real you last month." I felt that we are always us, that I am always me, and so on... IOW, we are always responsible for ourselves.

I said that, and everyone reacted as if I had insulted them personally and viciously. I tried to explain that maybe I had misunderstood what had been said.... and that they had misunderstood what I'd said.

Other clues to my being clueless: Few email messages, few phone calls, few cards, few letters, and so on. Ali said that one thing she liked about me was that I wasn't slick; well, some slickness might have made things better for me and those I have been, am, and will be in contact with.

Heck, on the other hand, I've had a mostly successful career, and not all of my two marriages were miserable. I try to
be kind
listen
be forgiving
and so on... but there seems to be something fundamentally wrong with my social skills. Sigh.