Being from Northwest Wisconsin, I admittedly come from the stock of cautious but friendly and overly polite. So it goes without saying that most of the time, the people I deal with are like me. And then there are the exceptions…

This particular exception was mean…scary mean. The kind of mean that thrives on watching doormats like me squirm in discomfort. They get off on it like a sick high. You know what I’m talking about, the ones who will look for the slightest hint of pushback against whatever offense they are raving about and use it to fuel their rage. I’m pretty sure these are the “soft skills” that collection agencies look for when they’re hiring.

I’ve been around long enough to have experienced  my share of bullies, divas, and drama queens. The problem is I have never developed the thick skin required to either blow them off or put them in their place. That’s just not me. I avoid conflict like the plague.

I may not have a backbone (figuratively speaking), but I do have a mystery series. It’s just waiting for colorful characters to cross my path and make an impression on me, good or bad. So, go ahead, humiliate me, chastise me in public, get some sick pleasure out of watching my Scandinavian pallor flush like a first degree sunburn. I’ll probably just take it on the outside…but on the inside I’m mentally gene spicing you and filing certain characteristics away for later. You never know when they might come in handy.

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