The Laughing Wolf

A Matter Of Perspective

By the things we so often think are important, last night was a disaster. I had company over and some of my housekeeping efforts were quickly set to naught by mud and gunk tracked in to coat the floor. I cooked a new meal, a recipe I had created just last Saturday, and rather spectacularly misjudged the cooking time by more than two hours. There were communications difficulties and differences in senses of humor, and things that reminded me I am now old . To cap the evening off, when we left to return them to their abode, there was a note on my door proclaiming to one and all that I had not paid my January water bill the current lair and that as a deadbeat I was subject to fines and legal actions. The recipe for disaster, right?

Wrong.

Last night was the most fun I have had in a long time. The young lady who bravely agreed to be my Guinea pig was a delight. The fact that English is not her native language was not a barrier nearly as much as a springboard for exploration as she explored American and I learned a bit more about Dutch. Humor that failed led to discussions of what lay behind events, and even into discussions of double meanings in both languages. I taught a bit about some cooking basics, and she shared tales of food from her home. She wasn't too scared of Souther food, so I shared a bit even as we waited and waited for the Orange Chicken with sourwood honey/Grand Marnier/chipotle glaze (and basmati rice, mushroom, almond, roast garlic stuffing). Not that she suffered too much, as I plied her with sweets, tea, bacon, and more to keep her strength up during the arduous wait.

We talked animals, from a duck named FiFi to a beagle named Ralph. We shared tales of the fascinating personalities and our thoughts on breeds and individuals. We talked about their career plans, research, and much more.

No, that was no disaster. It was simply one of the best times I have had in far too long, something I hope I managed to convey as I drove my very full and sleepy company back to their lair. It went in almost none of the ways I has planned or desired, and was so much the richer for it.

That thought has also mutated my anger at the letter at the end of the evening. I take more pride than I should in paying my debts, and that one was indeed paid. It was, in fact, paid almost two weeks before it was due, and therein lies part of the problem. Long story short, I paid when the bill arrived, not the way most do it. I also made the mistake of letting them run the payment the following day, for the convenience of the admin, who did so but lost their copy of the receipt, my copy of the receipt, and failed to log the payment into the accounting system. I have worked this issue with them, and even personally handed a copy of the transaction from my bank to the property manager. By my normal humor, I should be chewing up and spitting out nails this morning in righteous anger over what I regard as the gross incompetence of the AIMCO staff.

Wrong.

They are going to get a nastygram from me shortly, but I am almost laughing at this point. If they carry the farce further, it will go to the lawyers and I will come out well ahead as I can prove in court that it was paid, and that they were given proof of that several documentable times. No skin off my teeth, and indeed no reason for it to impact my day or life beyond the time it takes me to write the letter.

No, last night was a life lesson in many ways, about what is truly important. It is not schedules, perfection, or even public reputation. It is people, it is life, it is the opinion not of some artificial construct but that of individuals of worth. It is about explaining Moose and Squirrel to one who has never seen Rocky and Bullwinkle.

I go to share my day with some delightful wild and dangerous creatures and to immerse myself in what is truly important in life. In addition to time with the staff, I will even spend some time with the wolves. I may even try to find a copy of a good episode of The Adventures, maybe the Ruby Yaht, to share a bit more laughter, and groaning at the puns. It is to experience the joy of getting to know interesting people, no matter how many legs they have.

Think of your perspective this day, and how much richer and better life can be when you look at it in a different way.

LW