All of a sudden, I am alone with not a friend in sight. I retired and came back to the mountain of my childhood a few years back. I dove right in to volunteer work, senior activities and found a church. Somehow, I’ve rubbed a few elbows the wrong way and am now the subject of gossip, lies and innuendos. In other words, no one is answering my phone calls. My voicemails are beginning to sound a tad pathetic.
It all started with X unfriending me on Facebook after Y challenged my position on the political front. Then Y told everyone they knew some trash about me, which of course wasn’t true. Then Z stopped sitting with me at the senior luncheons and moved over to W’s table. We all shared volunteer duties at various places in Crestline and Lake Arrowhead and suddenly I’ve been asked to not show up when W, X, Y and Z are in “the building.”
Just this week, the meal delivery coordinator accused me of upsetting one of the shut-ins on my route. Goodness sakes; I simply knocked several times instead of just once. The client was so nasty, I took his lunch home with me.
And they wonder why we old folks turn into hermits. My broken heart can’t take much more abuse. I do believe I shall become a grizzly old forest recluse. Do you have any words of wisdom for me?
Forever Feisty in CPP
Dear Feisty,
As the saying goes, “No good deed goes unpunished.” Your acts of kindness and the sacrificial giving of your time – these things should all be given without expectations, because all of this BS will backfire on you. Those who help others are doomed to suffer.
(Of course, I Googled your situation and came up with all kinds of horrible explanations as to why you may not be popular, too many to list here.)
Sad but true, some of us should just stay home and off social media. Enjoy your retirement and the cooler mountain mornings this week.
Sidney
Send your questions for Sidney to Sidney@thealpinemountaineer.com or by snail mail to Dear Sidney, The Alpine Mountaineer, P.O. Box 4572, Crestline, CA 92325.
This advice is intended for entertainment purposes only. No animals were harmed in the writing of this column.
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