Now and again I encounter a client who has drawn the short straw and been given the honour of being the Best Man for That Guy. That Guy is a man who excels and succeeds in everything he does. Not even putting a foot wrong when he was learning to walk. Mercifully, That Guy’s aren’t common which is welcome news to those of us less inclined to raise our standards. However, if you do find yourself, the poor sap, perennially shadowed by his glory, I suggest turning his perfection into the very stick you beat him perfectly unrecognisable with. A while back I encountered That Guy, and more importantly the poor, overshadowed Best Man who felt he’d been given an impossible task. Well, it wasn’t. Here’s a snippet of the opening of the speech which nicely set the theme and tone for what was to follow.
“For as long as I’ve known Oliver he’s always been something of a hero. At school, Oliver was “That Guy”. You know “That Guy”. That Guy who was in the top sets for everything and great at all sports. Even netball. That guy, who could win a hundred meters sprint, and complete a miniature tapestry of the Mona Lisa while on the hoof… “That Guy” who was destined to play the lead role in his school productions of The Little Shop of Horrors. It was a great performance; they had this singing, dancing vegetable, performing alongside a singing, dancing vegetable. One of them looked as though a carefully inserted hand was controlling it, the other one was a puppet. Apparently, Oliver’s performance was so convincing, he was chased down the road by a hoard of screaming vegetarians… Hell-bent on removing his stalk…”
Where there’s a will there’s a way.