The worst thing about being a rebel

Sumfin I just need to say, feel free to not read this

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She's not the first and certainly won't be the last person to say she misses me and wishes I'd return.

Who she is and why she misses me is not important. Nor is her mental stability, although you may well feel it necessary to question that.

Adjust yer windage. I'm short.

Unlike everyone else who has expressed the same sentiments, she asked why I left.

I briefly considered what to say. Dissemble? While I can prevaricate with the best o' em ... Well I can. Nuf said eh?

I considered being evasive. Nah.

So I told the truth.

Why I would even consider being less than exact in response to her question, well that's because I know how some people talk, how they will distort what is said and how things are misconstrued and taken out of context.

Bearing all that and more in mind, I still told the truth.

It's unlikely you'll get a warrant, but try anyway.

I said "I'll come back when people want me to come back."

She said "I want you to come back."

"So do other people."

Which led to the question why I haven't returned.

"I'll come back when the leadership wants me back. I will not be treated like a second class citizen," I said.

Another lady said "We'll welcome you with open arms at ******." She opened her arms to illustrate.

I hemmed and hawed. Truth won out again.

"I talked with ****** about it. It's not going to work," I told her.

Hell Yeah!

And it won't. Because I have talked to the person in **-marks above. We agreed to disagree and leave it at that and leave our friendship intact. Some things are just too minor to get upset about, especially if you can avoid them.

This situation can absolutely be avoided. I leave (as I did) and I don't go (as I'm doing.)

When it comes time to fight, I will. I have. I've lost and I've won. I've absolutely fought my share of worthless battles and lost causes and created plenty of grief where the smart thing to do was walk away. I was not a rebel without a cause. I fought authority, conformity, uniformity and what I perceived as stupidity. Some people did accused me of being a rebel without a cause. So be it.

I burned bridges while I and other people were standing on 'em. Collateral damage was not my fault, I decided. (A sentiment I still have albeit to a lesser degree.) Occasionally I launched mortar fire to take out bridges before I even got to 'em.

Not just for breakfast any more.

I fought for the sake of the fight.

As I've aged, and now that I have children, I'm more apt to pick my battles and more likely to walk away from the ones which don't matter.  This is one of the issues that doesn't matter. It's also a case of me fighting would create far more harm than good. I'm just not willing to fight this time.

And since you're wondering how the title links into this column, here's the whole quote. It's original to me so if you quote it to other people, please give proper attribution.

The worst thing about being a rebel is living long enough to suffer the consequences of your actions.