After a particularly raw encounter with The Ex, which went without response on my end, I resolved in my heart to respond to her unreasonable ad hominem attacks with even more unreasonable ad hominem attacks of my own invention, and see how far that would get her.
Thing is, I'd learned a valuable lesson a few weeks before, from a matatu tout.
Thing is, I'd learned a valuable lesson a few weeks before, from a matatu tout.
You see, no one argues with touts, because when they talk back they say whatever the irreverent hell they feel like saying, relevant or not. A tout will tell you. And he will say it badly. Like, one day, some hapless passenger was refusing to pay the new fare after rain had nudged it up by hundreds upon hundreds of percents. He happened to be sitting next to his girlfriend as he valiantly argued against the injustice of being made to pay more just because it was raining. But the tout didn't answer his concerns, rather, casually urged the disgruntled passenger to just pay full fare so that once he and his woman got home they could have sex! Rrrrrrridiculous! All of us - the whole bus, the driver and the girlfriend - laughed helplessly for the remainder of the journey, dude therefore had to shut up and pay forthwith. From this I learned that good sense and logic will not always win an argument.
So I was ready to temporarily shelf my erstwhile pacifist rational methods and get down and dirty for once. But Sister of The Ex intercepted me en route to speaking my uncensored mind, and she managed to realign my course of action with good sense.
She said, "Give her time. It's been hard. Go easy on her," etc, to say nothing of sickening innuendos about romance. I took a series of deep breaths and considered her peaceable suggestions rather reluctantly.
By the time I met The Ex later on that day, I was calm, transcendentally understanding, willing to absorb infinite ad hominem attacks without complaint - in fact I was inwardly braced for actual bodily blows, and armed with the fortitude to absorb them quietly.
But The Ex was supremely sorry for last time. She apologized profusely, even before she greeted me. So we agreed to forget it and work on all future music in serenity while keeping it businesslike.
I wasn't deluded though. It wouldn't be a fairy tale. I'd seen the preview.
So I was ready to temporarily shelf my erstwhile pacifist rational methods and get down and dirty for once. But Sister of The Ex intercepted me en route to speaking my uncensored mind, and she managed to realign my course of action with good sense.
She said, "Give her time. It's been hard. Go easy on her," etc, to say nothing of sickening innuendos about romance. I took a series of deep breaths and considered her peaceable suggestions rather reluctantly.
By the time I met The Ex later on that day, I was calm, transcendentally understanding, willing to absorb infinite ad hominem attacks without complaint - in fact I was inwardly braced for actual bodily blows, and armed with the fortitude to absorb them quietly.
But The Ex was supremely sorry for last time. She apologized profusely, even before she greeted me. So we agreed to forget it and work on all future music in serenity while keeping it businesslike.
I wasn't deluded though. It wouldn't be a fairy tale. I'd seen the preview.
I had to chuckle when I read this. Sometimes it is best to keep those inner thoughts to one's self. Once you have spoken, those words are hard or near impossible to take back.
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