I was a Wild Thing....And Didn't Know It!

I haphazardly grabbed a random shirt out of the depths of my "exercise clothes drawer" to wear for my walk. It was an unfamiliar shirt that had a picture of an iguana on the front of it. I wondered briefly how it got in my drawer. However, I was not deterred and I thought the iguana was cute. That was enough justification for me to throw it on. I glanced in the mirror and noticed that my hair could use a brushing, but then decided to let it go thinking to myself, '˜Maybe it'll get better.' I thought I was "coiffed up" enough (meaning borderline passable) and I headed out to hit the pavement. A friend drove past me, rolled down his window, as he laughed and yelled out, "Wild Thing!?" I said, "What do you mean?" He then said, "Wild Thing" is written on the back of your shirt in huge red letters!"

Those are the consequences of having the opposite of a Type A personality'"ones who are fastidiously aware of details. (There is one area of exception for me, however, when it comes to feeling the need to reapply lipstick that would put me in the Type A area.) I can only concur that, with that one exception, I must fall at the other extreme as a Type Z. (my term, not Freud's)

Our personality types are a result of genes and environment that mold us into the "letters" we become. I was actually a witness to a personality letter transformation. I have a close friend who was born with a Type A personality and then was miraculously renovated into another personality type-- all because of a colonoscopy. (Piqued your curiosity? I'll explain later.) Let's just say that it was not in his nature to throw on an iguana shirt and walk out in public without checking out the back of it. He was also a self-imposed hypochondriac. He was convinced that every slight symptom meant his possible demise. He made repeated visits to his doctor with a wide array of concerns. Finally, in frustration, his doctor said, "You are just fine. Do you wear your seat belt? That's the best thing you can do for your health's sake."

Another aspect of his Type A is that he feels a need to be in control. He has had four knee surgeries. The doctors offered to put him to sleep each time, but in order to have jurisdiction, he opted to stay awake. He talked through every moment of each one. I asked him why he felt the need to talk continually. His reply was, '˜If I'm talking, I'm living." Makes perfect sense in Type A World.

He was recently scheduled for a colonoscopy. His hypochondria kicked in once again. He was paralyzed with the fear of the probable discomfort of the procedure, not to mention the possibility of hearing bad news. He stewed over its inevitability for days. On "C" Day, he was given something to relax him although he was certain his anxiety would override the effect. As he was being rolled into the examining room, he said, "Doc, I just want to warn you that I always talk straight through m -- e -- d..i -- c..a -- l. -- -- .zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz." And he was in a total blackout --

His next memory was of being wheeled into the recovery room. His wife said that he said in his delirium, "I'm so happy I'm surrounded by all my friends." They were actually all nurses he'd never met. I guess they looked like friendly angels. He has since been ushered into the Type Z Personality world. With his complete "letter transformation," he says that he is now looking forward to the next colonoscopy with eager anticipation.

Here's my conclusion: It takes all personality types to make the world go '˜round. What a dull world it would be if we were all the same. It's the diversity that keeps the world interesting. Our job is to find ways to get along with and enjoy all of the varying letter types. My only advice is to always check the back of your shirt after you've reached a certain age of maturity (which would be if you're the mother or father of grown children) to make sure it doesn't say "Wild Thing" on the back before parading around the neighborhood. We don't want to risk having our kids slip into another personality letter type all because of parental embarrassment.