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Not long ago I spent some time chatting up a nice young man who happened to work in the freight-hauling industry. This is noble work, it seems to me, and my interest was immediately piqued by the idea of getting busy in the sleeping quarters of his semi.
What? Don’t tell me you’ve never fantasized about that!
But it came out in the fullness of time that the semi was his only means of getting around, so that if we went for dinner, our conveyance would be his semi or the bus. I did not rule the man out upon hearing this information, but I was puzzled.
Then the man saw fit to share with me—unsolicited!—a series of letters he’d written to his ex-wife, letters he’d written in an attempt to find some meaning behind their breakup. With much trepidation I opened and read the letters while he anxiously waited.
Many, many things were revealed in these letters. Oh, many many things. I’m not sure what compelled him to ask me to read the letters, but I feel that my talent at getting people to reveal their deepest secrets goes wasted every day I’m not working for the CIA.
Perhaps he thought that the letters would show up the failings of his ex, but as is usually the case, writing about the faults of another mostly serves to demonstrate the all-too-human fallibility of the writer himself. Or herself.
What was revealed in these letters was that unfortunately, the man in question had a very serious issue with drinking. His drinking had put him into a substantial degree of debt. It had left him without the resources to fix his teeth, which he eventually lost. All of them. And it caused him to have issues with bladder control while under the influence.
I read his letters and then politely (I hope politely) disengaged myself. This was a situation far beyond my capabilities.
But I had to wonder what business this man thought he had out in the dating field. Wouldn’t his time be better spent nursing himself back to health? Shouldn’t he deal with his own issues before venturing forth on a quest for lurve?
I pondered this in a deliciously self-righteous manner for many long moments before it occurred to me to wonder how many people have thought the very same things about me.
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***My pal Omnipotent Poohbah has now returned from the great cyber graylands, wherein he languished for ten long days while the web host that I recommended failed to petition him out of purgatory. I feel so guilty, OP! But I’m very glad you are back.***



