Saturday, December 16, 2017

Hollywood vs Real Life


I've wanted to post about this topic for a while. Being weaned on movies (pictures) in my life, the black and white of character depiction by Hollywood was a belief I held for a long time. Bad guy/woman = no redeeming features. Good guy/woman = no dark side.

I remember seeing a play. The Steward of Christendom (in the Abbey in Dublin) that showed a bad guy ( a male nurse) mistreating an elderly patient in a psychiatric home. In the second act it showed the bad guy being superbly kind. No one, truly, is all bad or all good, in spite of Hollywood. That play has stuck with me over the years.

I took a workshop with an older woman in Toronto a few years ago. It was about exploring all of ourselves, loving the inner, exploring our own darkness. At one point she said: "There's a Paul Bernardo within all of us." It gave me a chill. Us participants looked around at each other and then slowly nodded. Of course there is. Most of us can squelch those murderous thoughts, but a very few act them out.

Which is all in the way of saying I had a problem with my unsold salt box box. There was a bad storm this past Sunday and a large branch broke off a tree and caught a wire which in turn was fastened to a corner of my house. The wire came down, taking with it a part of my roof.

I called the power company who were on it right away. They called me when they were on site to tell me it was a telephone wire that had downed. I called the telephone company who, fortunately, came the following day and disconnected the wire. I texted a good friend to request that he check out my property to ensure there were no further hazards. *Crickets*. That surprised me.

So nothing for it but to travel out to my old house to inspect things myself. There are other friends out there but for reasons I won't get into I didn't like to ask.

So I'm out back, loading my regular tires into the garage to await the spring, when who should appear on my meadow but Cathedral Man. all chatty and smiley.

My first reaction was to go sour and vinegary but then I thought, shyte, no. What a waste of anger and frustration. He asked me why the house wasn't selling and I mentioned the Cathedral. He looked genuinely surprised. Well. I then mentioned the wire and the corner of the roof. "We noticed that had come down," he said. Well. I responded I was upset about it.

"Let me go get a ladder and fix that all up for you, right as rain," he said. And he did.

And I thanked him. And thanked him again. And he said it was nothing.

See what I mean?

21 comments:

  1. Wouldn't life be easier to navigate if all the bad guys wore black hats and had totally black hearts? He sounds as if he is one of those people so wrapped up in themselves they do not notice when their choices affect others since he was surprised that his new build is affecting your property sale. It WAS a kind act to help with your roof damage.

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    1. Yes weird that. An inability to place himself in another's shoes I'd say. I don't think he's that great an actor but one never knows.

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  2. Odd that he looked genuinely surprised when you thought the Cathedral was hindering the house sale. Is he just a brilliant actor? Or does he really think everyone will look at his building and admire it?

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    1. My response disappeared Nick. I recall I said the non response of my friend was more of a shock. In the same text which he read 25 mins after I sent it I'd mentioned I'd left a gift on his deck for him. No thank you for that either. I'd be concerned but I see he's posting his usual stuff all over FB. 😪

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  3. Yes, life often bowls googlies when we expect orthodox spin! (That is cricketese for an unexpected turn to the ball given using the same wrist motion.)

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    1. I remember my rounders so well. I just loved that crickety game!

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  4. I guess hell is on it's way to freezing over!

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    1. Tres strange indeed. But I was so stressed about the roof I'm ready to forgive him nearly everything.

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  5. Oh Geez Wise - well, now you can tell potential buyers what a very nice man he is - will keep an eye on your place and do small repairs if needed! Happy Holidays.

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  6. Wow...don't quite know what to make of that guy...is he an oaf or a master manipulator or what? At least he repaired your damage...

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    1. His family has a ruthless reputation.

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    2. You know though, I was thinking the other day , I hope people don't think I am like my brother. Because we are not the same at all.

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  7. Hmm - Jekyll and Hyde-ish ! Still, it turned out well, and nicely in tune with this season of "goodwill". :)

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    1. I know, they can't be trusted but I had a hell of a time at a dinner party entertaining everyone with the story. :)

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  8. I'll forego the old adage about leopards and spots, given the season of goodwill, and just offer the wish that you have a very happy Christmas, and that the New Year brings you joy in abundance.

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    1. The same to you and the missus RJA, as you enjoy the ambience of rural France. I'm sure the weather is mellower than here, we have high winds and bitter cold but hardly any snow.

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  9. Hope you had a Merry Christmas! Sounds like your move to the new place is working out nicely; a true home! That is wonderful.

    And I'm going to keep hoping somebody shows up that wants to buy your old house, who is not the Cathedral guy. May he rot in hell. He is a bully, pure and simple, and I despise bullies.

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    1. Oh no question, Elle, I'm not forgetting they saw those wires and branches come down when I wasn't there and did nothing.

      I wish you the very best of all that is good in life for 2018 and beyond.

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    1. And people, well there not all "bad" or all "good" either. We only have to look at the Saints in the RC church. Even Hitler was a fine artist. The trouble is in the percentages, right?

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