First, I should point I’m certain I’ve written about this before because it’s one of my favorite subjects, but I didn’t want to repeat it. So, as is my habit, when I get that kind of feeling on Friday afternoon, as I’m going into blog-mode, I bring up the Thinking Out Loud archive and scroll backwards. Couldn’t find it! Double checked on the check list I keep of past subjects. Couldn’t find it!
That’s when I realized something I find amazing, but I’m certain no one else does. Thinking Out Loud originated on my website, Airbum.com. I don’t know a definitive start date but it ran there for at least 12 years. Come July it has run for four years in Substack. One a week, 52 weeks a year times 16 years is 832 weekly blogs. Holy…..! So, just because I couldn’t find my Theory of the Two Percenters in my sojourn here on Substack doesn’t mean, if you search back far enough, you won’t find I’m repeating myself here. Hey, I’m high mileage, folks. Gimme a break!
A note before going into this discussion. It could easily be read as a way of dividing good from bad. That, however, is absolutely not what it’s about. It just points out a personality trait that I think a certain percent of the population possess and is interesting. It’s like looking at a stack of firewood logs and categorizing them into groups based on some sort of characteristic. Maybe size. Grain. Etc. One is no better than the other. Just different.
How does the two-percent characteristic manifest itself? Let’s say we’re driving down a country road and pass a few farms. I have someone in the right seat and after a few miles, I look over and ask, “What’d you think of the old barn back there?”
The majority of the population would say, “What old barn?” That’s not a depreciating comment. Just an observation.
If I had a two-percenter (this is very much an arbitrary, unconfirmed percentage) in the right seat and asked the same question about the old barn, they’d say “Yeah, did you notice how well the stone foundation was laid up? And what about the ’40 Ford pick-up behind it. I wonder if that’s for sale. Also, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a walnut tree that big. Had to be four feet! Think of the grain in those crotches!”
It’s just different observations. One is watching the road. The other is scanning the views to the sides.
Some people spend life watching life’s centerline and making sure they’re going where they should be going and, hopefully, will get there on time. The Two-Percenter (could be five, ten or whatever percent) is constantly aware of the peripheral things in life. Why? I haven’t a clue. It’s just that some people have a demonstrated urge, a drive, or something that has them constantly aware of, and interested in, life’s surroundings. For some, it’s a borderline addiction. They have to be looking in different directions to satisfy some sort of internal need for satisfaction they don’t find on the centerline. They may be the absolute best in their field. A killer marketing manager. A painter known worldwide. Or maybe a musician who is truly alive only when they’re making music in whatever way they do. However, it’s extremely common to find artistic or business types who are hard core two-percenters and can’t let the world around them proceed without them noticing it. Most often, when they pick up details usually unseen by others, they find they want to be part of that other world. However, two-percenters vary as much as the rest of the population. Their brains are far from being homogenous in terms of what they’re noticing on the sides of the specific life highway they are traveling. It’s quite literally different strokes for different folks.
For instance, I used to have a good friend, Lenny Tanner, who was an outstanding woodwind musician and spent most of the first half of his adulthood on stage with Benny Goodman and both of the Dorsey Brothers. He even wound up marrying one of their singers.
He was constantly in trouble on tour because he was building model airplanes and running the motors in hotel rooms. As he left music and pursued other facets of life (are you ready for this?) he completely restored and was flying a P-51 Mustang. Of more importance, he did every bit of the rebuild, including the engine, himself and he did most of it in the lower level of his bilevel house. The tail protruded through tight fitting, custom-designed garage doors into the street. The doors fit tightly around the fuselage about three feet in front of the tail. At one point Bob Hoover borrowed it to do a show when his own Mustang got sick. Not your average clarinet player.
Not a bad airplane for being restored by a clarinet player. Photo by Jack Poelstra, airhistory.net, no. 540975
My older sister was blown away that one of my close friends was John Bivins, who ran the Museum of Colonial arts. She was restoring a 1756 stone mansion she and her husband had bought in Virginia and asked me for some advice. I recommended John. She instantly knew the name and was wildly impressed that he was a friend. John was a recognized historian and expert in all things Colonial. However, I knew him as the recognized leading creator of 1700s rifles of all kinds with originality and craftsmanship of such quality he was always sold out five years ahead. A Bivins rifle is still the most sought after firearm of its type. He was also a warbird freak and I got him up in a few. He was also a terrific writer! Far better than I’ll ever be. And a wildly talented photographer.
Photographed in the parking lot of Rock Island Auctions where the new owner had just walked away with a Bivins recreation of a circa 1775 long rifle. He was tickled he got it for $6,000. Check out the fine detail! Three-dimensional artistic perfection!!!
Two-Percenters don’t know they are two-percenters. The world interests them but they are able to skip from interest to interest without missing a beat. A higher than average number of two-percenters are reading this right now and don’t know they are two-percenters and others aren’t. Part of that is because their wide range of interests means they almost always associating with folks in those fields. Inevitably, they don’t realize that folks working in those fields are not widespread in their own interests. They only do hot rods. Or airplanes. Or whatever. Universally two-percenters are very lateral people with widespread, serious interests.
The above isn’t something they set out to do and generally they don’t even know they’re doing it. That’s just the way they are and have no choice in the matter. So, look in the mirror. You might be surprised who you see. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.