Eccentricity: Just a little, please

My son and I were visiting over gin & tonics when he yawned. He had stopped in after work as he often does.

“I hope I’m not boring you,” I said, half sarcastically and half in alarm.

No! He said positively, “You’re never boring!” He hesitated. “Eccentric, maybe. But not boring.”

I took this as a compliment. Who wouldn’t rather be eccentric than boring? Later I googled “eccentric” just to check. Psychiatrist David Weeks explains that eccentrics are physically healthier and significantly happier than “normal” people. He puts the word “normal” in quote marks. He notes that eccentrics are wildly diverse yet share common characteristics. He listed 25 descriptions of eccentricity in descending order with the first five the most significant:

1. Non-conformity

2. Creativity

3. Strongly motivated by an exceedingly powerful curiosity and related exploratory behavior

4. An enduring and distinct feeling of differentness from others

5. Idealism

One of these I definitely display — curiosity. I can’t understand why everyone isn’t curious. That same son, especially, comments often about the constant curiosity I display.

Why did you do that? I ask. Why did he/she do that? Why do you think that? Etc. When I ask someone one of those questions, they usually just shrug and say, “I don’t know,” and it’s obvious not only do they not know, but they didn’t care. I am mystified. My theory is, if someone doesn’t want to answer a question, he or she doesn’t have to — but that shouldn’t influence or deter us from asking. But probably only one out of five characteristics wouldn’t qualify anyone for a bona fide label of eccentric, anyway.

I looked up more definitions — “unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual.”

Another definition said eccentricity was also called quirkiness and defined it as unusual or odd behavior. This behavior would typically be seen as unusual or unnecessary behavior without being obviously maladaptive, it explained.

I pored through more definitions and picked the ones I liked best and put me in the best light. Then I decided that most of these definitions don’t really apply to me — so maybe I’m just slightly eccentric. Maybe just enough to be kind of interesting, I thought hopefully.

But when I read that eccentricity is often associated with genius, intellectual giftedness or creativity, this made me pretty sure I wasn’t a real eccentric.

Then I needed the definition of eccentric in 6 letters for a crossword puzzle I was working. I was nonplussed when the answer was “screwy”. I don’t mind thinking of myself as mildly eccentric but no, I am not screwy. Am I?

I was reading a novel by Alison Lurie in which a character pondered that eccentricity was as good a disguise of one’s feelings as convention. However, the character concluded, it was more trouble. This was puzzling so I decided to ignore it.

I concluded that possibly, but only possibly, I was a tiny bit eccentric. Not enough to be noticeable. I’ll work on it, I decided. Just enough more to be — well — interesting.

Mary McClure is a former newspaper editor who lives in Lawton.