Ted Ramsey is a newer edition to the Wild Hare family, and I've had the pleasure of getting to know him over the past couple of months. He's a vivacious, pleasant young man who is quick to smile and quick to engage with other people, but I didn't really get to know this young man until I sat down with him over a beer after work the other night.
It is so easy to assume that you know people from the sparse interactions you may have with them throughout a day. You work side by side with them, so you think you have an idea of who they are and what they are about. I have to tell you that Ted was one of those surprises that caught me completely unaware.
Let's start with what I thought about Ted in the beginning. He seemed nice, charming, and good for a laugh. I thought him young, fresh, just out of college, and, while smart, maybe not that worldly in his experience in life. I was wrong.
When Ted and I sat down to have a beer together, it became quickly obvious that this was a young man with potential! He had a diverse range of interests and a lot of experience for one his age. For example, Ted worked as a singer on a cruise ship for a year. He worked for years in Washington D.C. on public policy issues, aaaaaaaaaaaand there is this:
Ted was a part of the University of Oregon a capella group "On The Rocks" that was featured on NBC's Sing Off a couple of years back.
It's amazing what happens when you put your assumptions aside and actually engage others in conversation. I had an overly simplistic view of this young man in my head, and I'm glad I got the opportunity to be corrected. Stereotyping and snap judgments are easy to do, especially as we get older and feel like we "know" more, but I was glad to be wrong in this case as I got to better know a nice young man who I might have overlooked if I kept my blinders on.
Plus, and you know this is true, I just wanted to post that Youtube video and see if I couldn't get people to embarrass Ted at work.
