Dating : What My Uncle Taught Me About Life

My uncle yelled at me so loudly, I thought I was going to cry. His thunderous voice paralyzed me and changed our relationship forever. But the lesson he taught me that day has stayed with me for years.

Let me explain what happened.

When I was 12-years-old, I remember returning home from school one afternoon. I asked my uncle Buddy where my grandmother and little sister had gone. Usually they were home when I go there.

“You’re uncle Roy took them to the store. They’ll be back,” he assured.

I don’t remember whether I believed him or not, but I remember looking outside in front of the house where my uncle Roy always parked his car. I didn’t see it there.

“You can’t tell a dog that ass stink! He always got to smell it for himself,” uncle Buddy yelled.

I turned to him and froze. My heart pounded. My eyes watered. Did I do something wrong? Did he just call me a dog?

“I told you they ain’t here. Why you gotta check me,” he yelled again.

Have you ever noticed how dogs greet each other? Each dog sniffs they other dog’s butt. We know butt cracks stink but dogs sniff them anyway.

If you trust someone to give you the right answer to your question, and you check the answer in front of them, isn’t that like sniffing the other dog’s butt?

If you don’t trust their answer, why ask them the question? Just Google it.

My uncle Buddy was a good man. I loved him very much. In that moment, he was frustrated. And in his frustration he taught me this:

No matter what you tell some people, regardless of how true it is, some people will never believe you. They will always want to find out the hard way.

Knowing this has kept me from wasting my time, complaining about the people who’ve ignored my advice. I try to focus on the people who listen to my advice — who want my help.

Have you ever told someone something, only to find out they ignored you? Did they discover you were right all along?

If so, maybe you can understand my uncle Buddy’s point of view. When you share a bit of wisdom with someone and they don’t listen, let them sniff another dog’s ass and find out for themselves.