Politicians have always fumbled, stumbled and bumbled at some point in their careers. Some more than others and many a comedian has made a career out of recreating and simulating those oral gaffes.
We laugh and giggle at their misappropriation of wordage and then we adopt those words and phrases into our vernacular. Newkuhler for nuclear and such. But being Southern, I always knew what he meant and said not matter how funny it sounded.
The guy in the Oval Office these days is a word salad of enunciation and made-up words and sentences understood by few.
Then there are the times when anger over a situation is piled into the equation.
Then what comes out of the mouths of leaders can be coherent and to the point or it can lead away from the point trying to be made.
I remember the black and white news scenes of that Russian guy banging his shoe on the podium at the UN.
That happened to me.
Well, kind of. I serve on my condo association board and yes, that is as high in politics as I ever want to strive.
Representing 350 units and trying to listen to all sides of a matter is the “platform” I based what you’d call a campaign on.
But at this month’s meeting, the person who serves as our manager as we outsource our day-to-day management misspoke on several matters regarding our pool. The rest of the board just sat there and let her misappropriate, condense and editorialize the meaning of a letter that had been sent in but not read out loud.
I knew what was in the letter. It wasn’t a “complaint” letter as it was painted. It was offered as help. But she didn’t explain it that way and was sitting there representing me and the other six board members. I was the only one who didn’t agree with the nonsense she was spouting.
So, I said something.
Well, a few things.
Anger has a way of well, getting you off track from where you should be. In my short diatribe I first tried to explain the letter was not a complaint, then I buried myself with saying the person doesn’t represent me and I tripled down saying she didn’t represent the board and for the grand slam I said if it was up to me she and her company would be fired and out the door immediately.
I should have been more like the “prophet” Rodney I like to quote and got along for the sake of the old folks and children. But Rodney was far from my mind at that moment.
My rant didn’t go over well beyond me and the four folks who wrote the letter. I sat and stewed and hemmed and hawed but eventually owned up to my poor behavior and wrote apology letters both to the board and to her.
But the original problems still exist and will despite my Newkuhler word salad response on the matter. Hey, I have a journalism degree and usually write about the folks who do this not be the one who did it. Humbling it has been.
For now, I shall pray first and open my mouth later. Maybe take a breath and drink some water and thinking, yes, lots of thinking before I respond to a matter that makes me mad or upset. That may actually be Biblical. Lol. Yes, I think I’ll be more like my dad and the great character, Walt Longmire. In one scene his deputy asked him what he was doing.
Sheriff Walt Longmire responds.
“Thinking. I do that sometimes before I talk.”
I highly recommend it these days.
