After the Beginning
She was walking through an artisan display of perhaps 100 stalls and,
unfortunately
passed by two of her ex-friends a couple or three times. The last time she passed
(her ex-friends),
the more mouthy of them said:
(her ex-friends),
the more mouthy of them said:
"Not going to say hello?"
She stopped, turned around and replied in a calm steady voice:
"Why would I say hello to someone who de-friended me on Facebook?"
The more mouthy ex-friend responded immediately:
"You're an ass!"
A head was flipped and then they quickly walked away.
She was shocked and speechless for 3 or maybe 5 seconds
having not encountered such behavior for something like 40 plus years
(in high school)
and then headed out...
having not encountered such behavior for something like 40 plus years
(in high school)
and then headed out...
...huffing...
..after them.
thoroughly incensed she asked the not-mouthy ex-friend:
"What did we ever do to you!?"
The not-mouthy ex-friend responded:
"It's not so much what you've done to us,
but what you've done to our friends".
"What!?"
she asked."You trashed them all over the net!"
"What are you talking about?"
she cried out, truly & honestly baffled.
Now raising her voice (wrongly) in an effort to finally be heard
she tried to tell them
her side:
"We sent an email to Frick saying we missed them
and was wondering what was going on.
and was wondering what was going on.
They never deigned to respond."
having totally lost "it"
she informed them thus:
"I spent 6 months at home because I felt so bad & baffled & sad
about everything that was going on."
about everything that was going on."
(almost the truth)
And then expounded further to explain:
"Frick spent a whole evening trashing Frack to us
(and a few other people as well),
and after that... I just knew we'd be in trouble..."
(She took a breath)
"...and we were!"
And finally she vented:
"You listened & acted on information from someone else
without even asking us our side!"
without even asking us our side!"
"Stop shouting"
our mouthy ex-friend told her rather disdainfully
secure in his unshakable position of unforgivable righteousness & hostility.
Then...
she too flipped her head and walked away...
but even so
she could hear the mouthy ex-friend say
"Did you see....?"
"What did they see?"
she wondered
feeling whatever it was
had to be wrong.
feeling whatever it was
had to be wrong.
She then walked home rather blindly & swiftly.
She cried.
She phoned a friend and
after the phone call....
she cried some more.
Later:
"Why would any one want to live forever?"
she asked a sympathetic soul.
"I think we've all been given the gift of life
and it's only right to see it through but...
and it's only right to see it through but...
sometimes it's so hard.
People are people;
they lie & cheat & live in delusion & often are just plain mean.
People are people;
they lie & cheat & live in delusion & often are just plain mean.
I don't think living forever would make any of that go away.
Even the people with lots of money and others toadying around them all the time,
they must still know...
don't they?"
Even the people with lots of money and others toadying around them all the time,
they must still know...
don't they?"
The sympathetic soul didn't disagree.
"It makes me so tired sometimes."
Later still, yet another fellow wanderer emailed her this internet piece of puffery:
It made her laugh.
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