The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

The woman stood in the lobby surrounded by her staff and a client and turned to look at me. I was playing delivery boy and clearly she didn't like the fact that I was there. However, I was a messenger and I was to be shot. She spat venom at me and I ducked but it caught me on the cheek and scoured my skin, burning away any good will, or humour, I had. As I drove away I thought to myself that holding it in could be destructive so, to the amusement of the couple in the car to my right, I let loose a stream of consciousness dressed in profanity and didn't stop until I needed to take a breath or pass out from the effort. It made me feel better. After reflecting on it for a few more moments I screamed out another two choice ones that I always save for the most loathsome examples of humanity. I was over reaching but my good humour was restored and now I was just having some fun.

French essayist Michel de Montaigne wrote that "The most evident token and apparent sign of true wisdom is a constant and unrestrained rejoicing." By this I can confirm that my antagonist is among the least wise, evidenced by her lack of compassion and disdain reserved for those unkowns upon whom she feels compelled to drain her frustrations. In short, some people are just miserable. So be it. Still, I hope she suffers from piles.

My next stop unwound all my hostility. When I told her who I was and why I was there, I could see disbelief in her eyes, but when I gave the package to her she smiled and asked me if she could have one. I said, "You can have them all." , and her smile widened to include every thing in the universe. Funny, isn't it, that not two kilometers separates the wild extremes of human conditioning. Maybe it's not so odd, however, as within me those two polar opposites of reactions sit nestled side by side waiting for the toss of a coin to see who wins and who's about to lose. What a nice lady.