# Definition of a Curmudgeon



## ByrdC130 (Jan 4, 2008)

Saw this on Rimfirecentral.com's forum and had to bring it here. Posted with the upmost reverence and respect. 




I think this is the best description I've ever read. What'd ya' think? Know anyone like this? 

""A Curmudgeon's reputation for malevolence is undeserved. They're neither warped nor evil at heart. They don't hate mankind, just mankind's absurdities. 

They're just as sensitive and soft-hearted as the next guy, but they hide their vulnerability beneath a crust of misanthropy. They ease the pain by turning hurt into humor. 

They attack maudlinism because it devalues genuine sentiment. Nature, having failed to equip them with a servicable denial mechanism, has endowed them with astute perception and sly wit. 

Curmudgeons are mockers and debunkers whose bitterness is a symptom rather than a disease. They can't compromise their standards and can't manage the suspension of disbelief necessary for feigned cheerfulness. Their awareness is a curse. 

Perhaps Curmudgeons have gotten a bad rap in the same way that the messenger is blamed for the message: They have the temerity to comment on the human condition without apology. They not only refuse to applaud mediocrity, they howl it down with morose glee. Their versions of the truth unsettles us, and we hold it against them, even though they soften it with humor."


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## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Having known several crumudgeons in my life, one photo can sum it up: 










I have often thought my father could sue the BBC for character infringement......


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## Curmudgeon (Jan 11, 2008)

Hey! 
I resemble that remark!


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)




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## Guest (May 22, 2008)

Posted By Curmudgeon on 05/21/2008 11:22 PM
Hey! 
I resemble that remark!




Yes You Do!


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

I still like this one from Websters: 

a crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old man


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

A curmudgeon, to me, is someone who has stopped accepting change and complains about everything new. Nothing's any good any more, back in the day, etc etc. 

One of the nice things about teaching college kids is the stunning revelation of how little they remember. For this Fall's crop of freshmen Ronald Reagan will be some dim figure from history. The 18 year olds will have no memory of Bill Clinton as president. Most will have only a hazy memory of 9/11. But otherwise they are just like any other college kids in any other era--some are lazy and uncurious, some are hard working and fired up with desire to learn. They're full of enthusiasm for stuff that, to me, is old hat. And they always show me new ways of thinking about it. 

Now cranky--that's what I'm aiming for, cranky old man


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## Curmudgeon (Jan 11, 2008)

I don't know about change:


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Nah, TOC. The Jag's something you've always wanted. If there was a gold bow-tie on the front of that, then we could talk change. (More like, then we could talk Armageddon.) 

Later, 

K


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

TOC, 

Is there a flat head Ford motor under the hood of that? You know Jag is owned by Ford now, right? 

Alan - your comments made me laugh, especially about the college kids getting fired up over stuff you find old hat!! Like what? Drinking cheap beer?!!! LOL!! 

Mark


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By lownote on 05/22/2008 8:04 AM

A curmudgeon, to me, is someone who has stopped accepting change and complains about everything new. Nothing's any good any more, back in the day . . .


I suspect that is just a natural function of the aging process.  Change _does_ seem to become more difficult to accept as one advances in life.


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## Curmudgeon (Jan 11, 2008)

Tata owns Jag now. 
You can't miss the scream of a Jag DOHC six at full chat...... 

Like the B-17 flying over today....... 

And the just restored B-52 on the test flight from the Boeing Museum of Flight..... 


I've taken measurements under the bonnet to see about a flattie......


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

"I've taken measurements under the bonnet to see about a flattie" 

Well, there's a shocker!! 

Having worked quite closely with a curmudgeon (not THE curmudgeon), I can say that C's tend to get a bad rap. Here, they go and do all the work of figuring out the best way to do something, then some young kid out of school (college or whatever) breezes in and tries to reinvent the wheel. I finally got tired of beating my head against the wall and went to the source for ideas of what worked and what didn't and why. It was frustrating to the curmudgeon I worked with to watch how things were being done, especially since his opinions were dismissed by the powers that be... 

Mark


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## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Actually, TOC is a lot more helpful and talkative than any crumudgeons I know, I always thought it was an odd title for him?


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## stanman (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By Spule 4 on 05/22/2008 3:51 PM
I always thought it was an odd title for him?


It's a title he imposed on himself!


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## Curmudgeon (Jan 11, 2008)

Actually, one of the locals, a 3-railer, coined that term. 
The original is "bearded old curmudgeon".


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## ralphbrades (Jan 3, 2008)

I am personally more familiar with the Daimler 2.4litre V8 version of the Mk 2. It belongs to a friend of mine and we both race our cars on a Sunday afternoon. It is quite a campaigner in its class -despite weighing in at well over one and a half tonne.... 

regards 

ralph


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Jag-you-ares? What's next, Lucas electrics?! It's enough to make a young curmudgeon #%* !


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## timhum (Jan 2, 2008)

That last post reminds me of a sticker I saw on a English car whilst on holiday in the USA many years ago: 

Why do the English drink warm beer? 

Because they have Lucas refrigerators!


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## flatracker (Jan 2, 2008)

In my humble opinion, the first post more aptly describes "our" curmudgeon.  May he one day be rewarded for all the help he has so freely provided. Sadly, most never are.


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

One of the nice things about teaching college kids is the stunning revelation of how little they remember.
That reminded me of Father Guido Sarducci's "Five Minute University" where, in five minutes, one learns everything the average college graduate remembers five years after they are out of school.


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

That was great Dwight! 
Jerry


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## Great Western (Jan 2, 2008)

Highly entertaining Dwight, many thanks. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/laugh.gif


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## Curmudgeon (Jan 11, 2008)

I found that I needed something as challenging as the locomotives I used to wring out. 
Lucas is close. 
Fortunately, everything works but one driving light at this point! 

Found the scuttle vent knob.........BEHIND the radio panel added when they put the AC into the car in Singapore. 

Do you have any idea how badly you can mess with the minds of 19-year-old bank tellers when you go through the drive-thru backwards?


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## Curmudgeon (Jan 11, 2008)

In case you could not figure out my last bit on driving backwards through the bank drive-through, look at the position of the steering wheel in the photo I posted.


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## dartracer (Jan 3, 2008)

I'll start,Thanks Dave for all the help you have provided in the short time I have been involved in LSRR. 

John


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