Orner New! May 2026

So, here is to the ornery ones. The holdouts. The contrarians. The people who refuse to upgrade the software. The ones who drink their coffee black and hate the new office layout.

Go on. Be a little difficult today. The world will try to move you, but you don't have to budge. So, here is to the ornery ones

There is a particular kind of glint in the eye of an ornery person. It is not the bright flash of anger, nor the dull haze of apathy. It is a low, steady burn. A “go ahead, try me” flicker. The people who refuse to upgrade the software

The ornery person isn’t usually violent. They are resistant. They feel the current of the crowd pulling them toward the latest trend, the latest outrage, the latest obligation, and they dig their heels into the mud. Be a little difficult today

The old farmer who is ornery about his tractor might yell at the sky. He won’t yell at the kid who wanders onto his land to fetch a ball. He’ll just grumble, hand the ball back, and mutter about “kids these days” under his breath. That’s the difference.

But I’ve started to think that a little bit of orneriness—judiciously applied—is not a character flaw. It is a survival mechanism.