Con artist, wings, and disappointment.

So last night was Polk and I boy's night out, so I was surprised to see Randy Toy already at Buffalo Wild Wings when I got there. Dave, Kristi, and Brandon showed up later. They left early so Polk and I could get our man-talk on over PBRs.

Ah, but first was the con artist. I thought my years in Chicago fending them off made me immune to their ploys, but this guy took me right in. He asked me to jump his car for him, which I gladly agreed to do after I finished pumping my gas. His car magically moved from the parking lot to a block away to 7 or 8 blocks away as I tried to drive him back to it. Then he launched into a spiel about his children and a leaky gas tank and needing some cash to get enough gas to get home. I felt like such a sucker, but after refusing to give him any of my money I gave him sort of a hard time about his efforts, asking about his children and how he felt leaving them alone in a broken car as I dropped him off at AutoZone instead of his car so he could con more people. I suspect by the end he knew I was on to him, although I played it pretty sincerely. On his way out of my car, he asked one more time for money. Anything I had. I directed him to my change tray which held $.18. He took a dime, but left the pennies. It seemed like a lot of work and time spent for a dime, but who am I to judge?

Anyway, I feel it necessary to adjust my theory about not changing people, just your reaction to people. While that is an important skill to have, it's also necessary to take a stand sometimes and tell people not to act in ways to treat you in ways you feel are inappropriate. I didn't used to have a hard time with this concept, but as I've gotten older its harder for me to be confrontational and let people know when I'm upset. I shouldn't always have to simply talk my way out of being angry. Sometimes I deserve an apology and a promise it won't happen again. And that's that.