Sunday, January 25, 2009

Temerity

temerity

Main Entry:
te·mer·i·ty           Listen to the pronunciation of temerity
Pronunciation:
\tə-ˈmer-ə-tē\
Function:
noun
synonyms temerity , audacity , hardihood , effrontery , nerve , cheek , gall , chutzpah mean conspicuous or flagrant boldness. temerity suggests boldness arising from rashness and contempt of danger temerity to refuse>. audacity implies a disregard of restraints commonly imposed by convention or prudence audacity and vision>. hardihood suggests firmness in daring and defiance hardihood>. effrontery implies shameless, insolent disregard of propriety or courtesy effrontery>. nerve , cheek , gall, and chutzpah are informal equivalents for effrontery nerve of that guy>cheek to call herself a singer> gall to demand proof> chutzpah needed for a career in show business>.

definition from Merriam-Webster online dictionary
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Johnnie has two older brothers, the oldest in Ohio; the middle in New Mexico. We are quite close to brother Ferd and Mare in Ohio; less close to brother Wiz and Marylyn in NM. We have been monitoring an unfolding situation between Ferd & Mare and Wiz & Marylyn.

Wiz and Marylyn are traveling from NM to Ohio for a trade show in which they are exhibiting. They asked to stay at Ferd and Mare's home for a week. No problem.

Next phone call: Wiz asks if their cat, Sparky, can come along. They never travel without Sparky. Ferd (their host for the week) is allergic to cats. Because Ferd is a nice guy and never says no, he says that Sparky can come and stay at the house too.

More calls ensue where Ferd is asked to arrange for numerous things to facilitate their successful exhibit at the trade show. Ferd does it all. Wiz then calls and says he has found a better deal for all the requested items so never mind. No apologies proferred. Ferd cancels everything without a word of recrimination.

Wiz calls this weekend (they arrive on Tuesday of this coming week) and asks if their brother-in-law Dougie can also stay at Ferd and Mare's house. Ferd and Mare have never met Dougie. Apparently he's 6'4" tall and will have trouble sleeping on an aerobed, the only available sleeping surface (other than the floor) for him at Ferd & Mare's.

How. rude. How amazingly inconsiderate of them! Bad enough they're bringing a cat to which Ferd has proven allergies. And now to also invite their brother-in-law to stay as well.

Johnnie and I are aghast at the inconsiderateness and the rudeness. There is a motel less than two miles from Ferd and Mare's home that accepts animals. We have to conclude it also accepts brothers-in-law. We've all stayed there for various events when the house couldn't accommodate all of us.

Adding insult to injury: Wiz and Marylyn are there on business (the trade show) so will be writing all of their expenses off. They can also (probably) buy and sell the rest of us about three or four times over. No need to pinch pennies. Staying at a motel (especially an inexpensive one) would not be a hardship.

The temerity, the cheekiness, the chutzpah, the effrontery, the gall, the nerve. I'm affronted on Ferd and Mare's behalf. We both are. We love all four of these people: Ferd and Mare, Wiz and Marylyn. However, stretching the family-ness this far is preposterous. Ferd and Mare called us tonight to tell us the latest and they know how we feel about this.

For the first time ever, I'm so glad we live in a smaller city so that our popularity for events such as this is much diminished. I'm typically the mouthy one who says what everyone else is thinking. I seriously cannot imagine taking such advantage of family in this way.
Unbelievable.

3 comments:

Joyce-Anne said...

Rude, rude, rude. Those (type of)people never appreciate what they receive, but certainly loudly complain when things aren't right.

Ndinombethe said...

oh wow - I agree - rude rude rude. Ditto everything Jibber Jabber has said. The gall of some people.

I love that you smile at people who are probably trying to be invisible. Keep smiling!

A. Nonny Mouse said...

Wow. That's ... amazing. I am seriously surprised that Ferd & Mer didn't say anything. That's certainly not Mer's style. :)