It was just about then that I had the pleasure of bumping into David and Frank. I let Elizabeth know I was running out to Johnson's store and would be right back. I exited my front door and there they were. "Good morning," I said trying to slowly pass. Don't make eye contact with Frank or he'll pull you in, I thought. I could tell Frank was pretty heated about his opinion of the general upkeep of The Villa. His tone was obvious.
"What do you think Sammy, don't you agree," said Frank with his Professor type leading question? Frank has this way of asking you a question then leading you to the answer by saying things like "don't you agree". He really doesn't want a true answer just reinforcement for his own opinion. Professor Frank had a madman's skill at this type of manipulation. I thought to myself, it may work on pimply faced college freshman but not on me buddy.
"I'm sorry Frank I don't have time today ? late for an appointment." I was a bit rude but not obnoxious, I thought, as I made my way to the car. I just hoped like hell they weren't still standing there when I came back.
As I drove toward Johnson's Hardware, to get some finishing nails, I gloated a little about my ability, my skill, to side step Frank and get out of there. This was something David hadn't been able to accomplish yet. The more I thought about it though the more I realized it was less about the skill and more about the tact. David's a much more cordial person than I. He's very much locked into social situations and other people's feelings. I sometimes wish I had these qualities, as I can be quite cold at times. I'm not that way with Elizabeth, but with other folks I simply am. I don't think this makes me a bad person, just someone that is less inclined to be the life of the party. Also, someone that is less likely to be, well, "liked" by the masses. I've never really wanted to be that person that practically everyone likes; to me those people are fake. I mean if everyone likes you, you must be lying right? You must just be telling most people everything they want to hear. God knows not everything is perfect. I get worked up about these things sometimes.
Now, I'm not saying David is the kind of person that wants to be friends with everybody, but he seems borderline here. My take on this is if everyone is your "friend" then you really have none. I mean I think it's better to have a few close friends than a bunch of acquaintances that you refer to as "friend", but you're not really that close to them. I don't know maybe I'm just jealous of David's ability to work those social situations better than I can. How he can stand there and listen to Frank go on and on I'll never know. I think David has a lot of empathy. That's something that is good about him, I suppose. My lack of empathy might make me come off as arrogant or cold at times but what are ya gonna do? I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam!
Frank can ramble on, that's for sure. However, he may have had a point about the steps leading down to the laundry room. They are fairly steep and I wouldn't want to travel up and down them at his age. Hell, it would be hard enough for me to go up and down them at my age. That is if I ever had a reason to, Elizabeth does all the laundry at my castle. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever descended those stairs. Oh well, buck up Frankie ole' boy.