'That Person' -- Or Mrs Peacock?

Advice columnist Eric Thomas answers a letter that could have been from a much younger me.

The writer is concerned about frequently being the one to take the initiative in neighborhood social gatherings, and describes a few instaces.

None of them sound even remotely out of bounds to me.

Thomas's advice is good for a chuckle, and likely, reassurance for many of his readers:

Image by Jatin Sindhu, via Wikimedia Commons, license.

In the mid-'80s murder mystery film "Clue", Mrs. Peacock finds herself at a deathly boring party (that's about to get a lot deathlier). Faced with awkward silence, she says, "Well, someone's got to break the ice and it might as well be me."

She then launches into a long, hilariously bizarre monologue. It's awkward but it does what it was meant to do -- break the ice.

Embrace your inner Mrs. Peacock with no shame. Ideally, everyone at a social gathering would feel empowered to say and do what makes them comfortable, but social mores and shyness often conspire under the guise of politeness. That's where Mrs. Peacocks show their plumage. [bold added]

As someone who is naturally very shy and not great at reading social cues, I have struggled with such dilemmas often. I even once went so far as to investigate whether I might be on the autism spectrum.

Over time, though, I made enough peace with the fact that, as his reader might put it, my "social batteries" run out faster than others' seem to, that I just go ahead with what I need to do.

I decided long ago that if there was a small hit to take, doing such things was worth it. Nevertheless, it's good to know that not only might I usually not be taking a hit, I may have actually helped a few other party attendees now and then in the past.

-- CAV