Ran into a neighbor on my morning dog walk yesterday. Her greeting was as follows: “It’s not so bad in the shade.” I replied, “It’s not so bad in the sun either.” That started her on a mini rant about how she didn’t like the hot weather.

I have no issue with hearing peoples’ weather preferences; I am a bit taken aback when someone’s opening salutation is a complaint. To quote my sainted mother: “Not a hi, hello, kiss my ass or anything.”

I have as many complaints as the next person but also have enough awareness that offering them up to you in a casual setting isn’t going to discharge the angst associated with them.

I avoid complainers like the plague. They sap my energy.

Allow me to define “complainers” as those who complain in just about every encounter.

“You have to have something more worthwhile to talk about than this drivel you’re spouting” is my complaint inside my head. I just don’t let that complaint out there for public consumption too often.

Like I said, we all have complaints but when you consistently lead with yours, I’m headed off in another direction. If I’m in a situation where I can’t leave, I’ve learned to politely nod and do Sudoku puzzles in my head.

If the irony hasn’t hit you yet, I’m complaining about complainers. I promise that I won’t blog about it every time.

All the best,

John