Tell me if I'm foaming at the ear, please.

I once had a supervisor who told me he bought a brand new leather jacket and wore it for the first time to his daughter's swim meet. He walked in and thought, Wow. People are looking at me. This jacket is pretty cool. I'm lookin' good! When he arrived at home, though, he found a massive collection of price-tags, brand-tags, and security-tags hanging from under the arm. Nice.

I hate it when I discover way too late that I looked like an idiot throughout the day. It's not a humility thing, I don't think. Maybe it is. But I think it's more like, Why didn't anyone tell me?! Do you have people in your life who will tell you what you need to hear? I value those people. From my perspective, these little displays of truth-telling build trust: Your tag is sticking out of your shirt; Your fly is open; You've got a little something hanging from the inside of your nose; Your t-shirt has a hole in the armpit - keep your hands down; You're foaming at the ear - went a little wild with the shaving cream, didn't you? I'd rather be momentarily embarrased than to wonder how many people saw me and thought, That dude looks ridiculous. So, again, tell me if I'm foaming at the ear, please.