Have you ever written a strongly
worded letter? Sitcoms lampoon this idea all the time. The passive geek is
wronged and someone says, “Well, what are you going to do about it?!?” To which
they respond, “I’ll tell you what I’m going to do about it! I’m going to
compose a scathing letter to shame them!” I received a strongly worded letter
recently and I didn’t take it super well.
The notice
was from our apartment complex. It said that they had received noise complaints
about “loud music, thumping on the floor, and shouts” coming from our
apartment. Now, my wife Elizabeth and I aren’t church mice, but we’re generally
pretty quiet…I think. We certainly aren’t obnoxious enough to merit contacting
the front office and reporting us. I was mad! Outraged even! “Why?” you ask? Because
our downstairs neighbor parks like a cross-eyed maniac! And worst of all
I had been contemplating calling the office on her for weeks and hadn’t gotten
around to it yet. Look at this business!
It’s crazy right? Not only is she that guy who has to back in every time, but she’s
not great at it. I’m not sure if she parks sideways on purpose so that people can’t
park next to her Benz or if she just stinks at parking, but it must be a habit because
someone has snapped off her iconic Mercedes hood ornament. And she parks right by
the entrance to the building where there’s a handicapped ramp…which she backs onto.
Look! She parks right on the sidewalk! I wanted to call the office and get her sent
a scathing letter. In fact, that’s why I originally took these pictures. So I’d
have some proof. Then I read this in Proverbs 12:16:
A fool shows his annoyance at once,
but a prudent man overlooks an insult.
but a prudent man overlooks an insult.
And I was done. What did I gain from showing her up except starting
trouble and fueling a quarrel? It’s not like she had committed some great
social injustice that I needed to fight. She just nicked my pride. Isn’t it better
to just be wronged than to show yourself a fool?
God Says:
Get Over It!
Have you ever received a strongly worded letter? How did you handle it?
Well the parking is a safety issue and not to mention she is blocking a handicap ramp. I might would address that. The other stuff I would just try to build a relationship if possible.
ReplyDeletePlan B is to host a skateboarding/paintball tournament on that particular section of sidewalk until she learns proper parking ettiquette.
Nathan Gibson
I agree Nate. It could be a safety issues, but I'm not prepared to police everyone's parking. I've certainly parked a little squirrelly from time to time. The biggest issue here is the issue of the heart.
ReplyDelete