Nowadays it is nearly impossible not to embarrass your children in one way or another. Especially if they are teenagers, but also for the other younger ones and even my wife as well. If I greet one of their friends at the front door with something like "Hello, nice to see you again" then I get immediately barked back at with a "C'mon, act normal!" If I do not say a thing and just stand there at the front door, trying not to smile too artificially and using my arms to gesture the best I can to get the point across in complete silence (okay, so maybe I am exaggerating just a "little" bit), I get yelled at with "C'mon, just act normal, jeez!" If I do not move, but stand as far away in the distance without being seen, I get the same old angry reaction "C'mon Dad, stop it!" Once a fashionable girlfriend came over dressed to kill. I could not help noticing the gigantic round metal earrings she had hanging from her ear lobes, causing them to sag and droop so that the earrings touched her exposed shoulders. It reminded me of those faraway African tribes one sees on the National Geographic television channel. I couldn't help myself from complimenting her by saying "Those are (cough) nice earrings you've got on there." My daughter nearly blew her stack, but I guess she didn't want to embarrass me either. Even my wife is often ashamed when I walk around with my slippers on, wear my jogging pants outside, don't shave on Sundays, clear my throat and hack out loud, crack my knuckles, stare at other women, or cuss at the neighborhood brats who play soccer by kicking brutal goals knocking over my fence planks. My conclusion is that it seems pretty funny (bizarre) how everyone else in this household is embarrassed about everyone else all of the time and everywhere. A waste of energy, but perhaps we can blame this on society, what is expected from us and what we falsely expect from ourselves. Except me, which makes me somewhat of an outsider, a special person, a real weirdo. Just act normal, will you.