George explained....

As I was listening to someone (who hardly knows George from a can of paint) describe him as "arrogant," I began to laugh and realized if you don't know George, he appears to be a piece of work. Having never grown up with a man in the home, and raised by his grandmother and a host of aunts, he has made up what he thinks a strong man should be. Having negative feelings towards his own father (he didn't meet him until he was 10 years old, although his youngest sister is 7 years younger than him, which means she was conceived when George was 3, however he had never seen his father), he decided to grow up and be the man he needed in his life when he was younger. He joined the marines at 18 years old, making up his mind to find a way on his own to pay for college. Without his mothers approval, he signed up and has been in the military every since. When ever George initially meets a man, there is this "dance" (for the lack of a better word) that he does. It's typical of most male dogs (not at all comparing him to a dog, but they do the same thing). There's the sizing up, the comparison to his image of what a man should be doing, what a man should have accomplished, and what a man should possess by a certain age. If he feels the man doesn't fit this image, then he begins dissecting the man to determine what is wrong with him that he has not accomplished all that he should have by now. There is little room for error, unless you have a physical disability (that is visually seen) he doesn't understand not having succeeded in life. While both of us possess the same thought process of not allowing negative situations in your life to cause you to be life's victim, he is a bit more extreme. As a marine, he believes everything can be solved with violence (what marine doesn't). The country is in financial peril, solution = kill all those who refuse to work. World population is an issue, solution = kill all those who keep having kids out of wedlock. Children are going hungry, solution = parents shouldn't have had them, if they can't feed their kids, kill the parents. It sounds absolutely ridiculous, but my husband is absolutely insane. LOL As a natural leader, he certainly doesn't understand a man not being the head of his house and letting the woman handle the finances. While he had taught me plenty about saving, investing, etc., he still largely maintains all savings and retirement plans for the both of us, making certain that our futures are secure. He believes in working hard (in the 7 years we've been together I have never seen him take a day off or call in sick), saving/investing money, living off of only 1/3 of your income, and being his version of what a man is supposed to be. When my dad lived with us, George had a serious time adjusting to another strong man in the house. He didn't learn to speak to my dad until my dad saw past his mask. Now that my biological father lives with us, he's been able to get past that thin hard exterior and get to the gooey soft center of who George really is. Not many people get to that point with him, and those who he doesn't allow in, will always see him as arrogant, obnoxious, annoying, know-it-all, loud mouth who seems to have an opinion about everything. His family has recognized that I am the only person who can get him to turn all of that crap off entirely and listen to me......yeah, I don't see it. LOL But I love my little loud mouth marine.