Daily Archives: December 10, 2020

I have a couple of boxes of Jack’s papers (some going back to high school days) and I’ve been going through them as time permits. I do NOT know when this was written or who the person was that caused him to write it, but my gut feeling is that it was about a certain manager at a Dollar General in Grants, NM. I could be wrong– there’s no date on it. He certainly never meant to share it with anyone. I think he was simply reminding himself that he knew how to deal with a difficult person. But his turn of phrase really amuses me and I thought you might enjoy it, too. —Jeanne

1. Don’t allow yourself to be provoked or lured into any involvement strong enough to be called a confrontation. Ignore.
   
   2. Keep in mind that her potential as a human being has probably already been achieved, except in the still-developing malignancy of her personality. Being her is not something you’d care to experience. Remember that her decision to be pond slime is her own and has nothing to do with you. Her leprosy surrounds her like a cheap perfume. Don’t inhale.
   
   3. Her bread-crumb evil is indiscriminate and contagious. Steer clear of her physical proximity, her written words, and the venom that trails in the wake of her passage, manifested in subtleties smouldering in her tracks. Ignore, and beware. There’s nothing about her that’s worth one increased pulse beat per hour.
   
   4. Don’t lose sight of the fact that she’s nothing new or different. She came off the same assembly line as scores of others you’ve known one way or another. She’s just the economy model–not as smart, not as cunning, not as pretty, and not as dangerous.
   
   5. Remember that all she has to look forward to is getting older, fatter, uglier, and emptier. She’s never been anything more than she is now, never been anywhere, never had the imagination, most likely, to visualize herself and anything more than a pacing, ass-biting animal. She’s only beginning to grow her wolf-teeth. Just be glad she’s nobody you have to care about or are forced by circumstance to be around much.
   
   6. Remember she has no power to drag you into her witless snares unless you give it to her.