#3 One Bad Apple

I've NEVER been rude to any of them. The truth is, if someone is polite to me, I don't care what they believe in, and that's usually how I handle solicitors.

I sometimes worry that I might hurt the feelings of telemarketers or Jehova's Witnesses if I treat them badly, so I usually let them have their way. But this guy and his 17 year old son today had the nerve to knock on my door to preach science fiction and then get up in my face with anti-gay slurs when I told him no thank you. Any water that I had left in my Watering Plant Pitcher (and it was quite a bit) went right into the guys crotch, implying, to all spectators, that he had an afternoon of Pee Pants Fun.

What bothers me most is the kid witnessed me humiliating his father. Even though I'm not a father, a manly thing to do is avoid situations with potential for embarassment in front of your children, I believe. Why did he get so vehement and end up with his tail between his legs? The kid hesitated for a minute until I sympathetically said, "Tell your father he is not welcome back here." And with this, I know I had hurt everyone's feelings, which made me sad. I created a memory that will probably stick forever. I know I won't ever forget it.

Still, being preyed upon by cult members was not fun, and being insulted, then thrust into a religious debate against my will was obviously more than I could handle this afternoon. But I am not unhappy with my life. I like where I'm living. There's music on Clinton Street all through the evening. I DON'T KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO ME WHEN I DIE, and neither do any of Jehovah's witnesses. I am not interested in reading the Watchtower. It is like they forced me to be the bad guy today, when all I wanted to do was water my houseplants.

And the worn out Theory of the One Bad Apple is not going to work due to inflation and global warming. It is time someone took a stance on all of these One Bad Apples. They seem to be multiplying.