The Random Comic Strip

The Random Comic Strip

Words to live by...

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and to rest afterward."

[Spanish Proverb]

Ius luxuriae publice datum est

(The right to looseness has been officially given)

"Everyone carries a part of society on his shoulders," wrote Ludwig von Mises, "no one is relieved of his share of responsibility by others. And no one can find a safe way for himself if society is sweeping towards destruction. Therefore everyone, in his own interest, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle."

Apparently, the crossword puzzle that disappeared from the blog, came back.


Thursday, July 14, 2011

A few words and a lack of clarity


I look at things differently than most. I learned, at an early age, to not tell too many people just how differently. People would look at me funny when I did. They still would, I suppose.

Lately, I am getting a lot of grief from one of my alleged friends. He says, "Just ask Douglas, he knows everything!" This is not spoken in awe and appreciation. I know a little bit about an lot of things. I don't offer advice that I expect people to follow. Quite the contrary. I expect people to ignore whatever advice I might have. My ex-wife had no trouble ignoring it. It's not that my advice is bad, it's that it isn't understood.

I'm misunderstood a lot. You get used to that. Just the other day, in a conversation with a para-legal working on my attempt to recover what was owed to my mother, I ran into a fine example. We, the people who cheated my mother and I, had come to a settlement. This para-legal had sent me an email that told me that they "were anxious to sign" the agreement. That was back in the middle of June. Do we have the papers? No. So, I sent her an email asking what the heck was going on and when are they going to return the signed document? I added that if the document is not signed and returned, along with the initial payment, by (this) Friday then the deal is off and we take them to court.

The next day I received a voice mail saying the document was on its way and to call her. It seems that coincidentally just before she read my email, she was told their lawyer wanted her to call him. He told her, she said, that the document and the check were being sent overnight express and they should be here this Wednesday (yesterday) afternoon. I expressed some skepticism about the sequence of events. I said the word "coincidentally" in a sarcastic manner. She took offense and complained about me calling her a liar. She ranted for a bit and then ended the conversation abruptly.

First, I never once uttered the word "liar." Second, I am still skeptical about the sequence of events. And, finally, I am the client. I am paying for the right to be angry.

She misunderstood me. I was venting. I was also being honest. I think she protested a tad too much. My beef is not with her but with her boss... my alleged lawyer. He seems to be working more for the other side.

It's going to get worse, I think.

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