maarmie's musings

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Nice people are so...nice

Last night, I went to a party at the house of a woman who used to be my boss but is now my friend. She and her husband are plainly and simply nice people. They don't make a sport of putting people down to make themselves feel better. They aren't snarky. They aren't gruff. They aren't impatient. They are 100 percent considerate and caring, and they both have huge, huge hearts.

The party was populated by similar-minded folks. Smart, funny, tolerant and just plain nice. My friend encouraged me to go to the party after I finished crying on the phone with her for over an hour about the debacle involving my now ex-friend, someone she also knows in a limited capacity. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to a party, but she encouraged me to - even if I spent the evening just sitting in a corner, she said, drinking and not talking to anyone. She wanted to get me out of the house, and I'm glad she did because I ended up talking to some very cool people including this one guy in particular who seems to have been sent to me by some outside force.

I have seen this guy around Tallahassee for years and have talked to him on only a couple of occasions. A man in his 50s from Croatia who is always dressed in all black and consumed with some mysterious project and typing away madly on his laptop computer, he has always seemed incredibly intelligent if somewhat arrogant and most entirely unapproachable. Well, we ended up talking briefly when I first arrived. Later, he was drawn to me as I sat by myself content observing the others.

He asked me all kinds of questions that might have frightened other people or might have made other people completely uncomfortable. I welcomed these questions, however, and ended up telling him many things about myself and my experiences in this world. He asked me who I am. What my purpose is in the world. These are things I have thought about for years and actually have answers for. We talked about people who do bad things and contribute mostly negativity and pain to the world - people he assured me are just as necessary in the grand scheme of things as the positive and loving people. We talked about my friend situation, about my family, my dreams for the future. I mentioned that I wanted to become a civil rights lawyer. When I said that, he could barely contain himself. He wants me to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve that goal, and I think I will.

I have to be me and fulfill my destiny just like other people have to be who they are and fulfill their destinies. But negative, violent, uncaring, opportunistic people beware. My destiny is diametrically opposed to yours, and I am a formidable opponent.

4 comments:

Annie said...

Hey, good luck. Lose out with one friend, gain another.

And you've definitely got the spirit necessary for good advocacy. Go for it.

maarmie said...

: )

Sunny said...

Hey--was that man bald?

maarmie said...

Not at all...