As I was on my way to Vivian's open house this evening, a truck passed me on the freeway at a high rate of speed. Now, when I say a truck, I do not mean a Ford Ranger or some other light truck. I am not even referring to something larger like a Chevy Silverado..... I am referring to what Vivian calls a "monster truck." I grew up knowing a monster truck to be Bigfoot or something of the like. What passed me on the freeway was not Bigfoot or even really close to be honest, but it was big. The tires were about as tall as I am. This truck did not just have a lift kit, it had it's own FAA number. As this truck passed me, the first words out of my mouth were, "Well, he is obviously compensating for a small penis." We all think that don't we? Am I alone in this? I think not. We all assume that the drivers of these vehicles feel like they need to make up for SOMETHING so we automatically go to the penis since it is an extension of manliness...Right? It is, right? That's what I have heard and I always assumed that is why some people accused me of being gay.....Joking....Really.....I am all man, dammit. Back to the topic. This truck had no sooner passed me that I noticed his license plate. It was a personalized plate (go figure) but I was shocked and very amused when I saw what it said.... COMPNS8. That's right folks. It was the word "compensate" in license plate short form. How freaking funny is that? Here is a guy (or girl but probably a guy since the driver was a guy) who is so self-aware that he put on his plate what he knows we are all thinking when we see that behemoth of a truck. I laughed my ass off for the next mile or two and it got me to thinking.... What happened to the art of self-deprecation? Putting ourselves down before others can do it. I am not talking about lowering our self -images by pointing out our faults. I am talking about pointing out the obvious problems with ourselves that we are fully aware of and have no intention of changing. Jack Benny was a master at this. He portrayed a cheapskate. It is well known that in real life he was not but on his TV show he was a staunch cheapskate and damn proud of it. Who can forget the classic scene where he was approached by a mugger and told "You're money of your life!!!!" and there was this long pause.....The mugger repeated himself, "You're money or your...." and he was interrupted by Jack Benny who yelled, "I'm thinking!!!!!" Classic example of self deprecation. Think abou the stand-up comedians, John Pinnette or Ralphie May. These guys are on the hefty side. Okay, they are massive. They both spend most of their routines talking about their enormous girth and yet I have heard people say they don't like these guys because all they talk about is being fat. EXCUSE ME????? What would you like these very funny men to discuss? Yeast infections and the annoying itch that accompanies them? How ridiculously stupid have we become as a society? It is no longer okay to talk about our own problems in a humorous manner? I know why.... We might offend someone. There might be a fat guy in the audience who takes personal offense to John Pinnette bitching about his chafing problems. We are too sensitive!!!! Way too sensitive. We spend so much time worrying about what might offend someone that we have forgotten to take a step back and just enjoy the show. Am I encouraging people to go out and make fun of fat people? No. Do I think it's okay to berate ugly people because they are ugly? Not at all. What we need is for the fat people to accept that they are fat and unless they are going to do something about it, they need to lighten up. I am saying that ugly people need to grow a pair and poke fun at the fact that they are ugly before some 5 year old walks by and starts crying when they look at their face. It happens. We are all different. We all have our short-comings..... Speaking of short-comings, back to the guy in the truck. My hat is off to you Mr. Small Penis-Big Truck guy. You are a Real American Hero in my book. Have a BudLight on me.......