Stuff.

Stuff: Worthless objects; refuse; junk; foolish or worthless ideas, words, etc.; nonsense.

No good deed goes unpunished. Isn't that an old saying? Maybe it's no good dead goes unrewarded. That sounds like bullshit, too. I've done some good stuff over the years and haven't received any earthly rewards. I keep an Excel spread sheet listing all of the times I've done nice things that weren't properly reciprocated. I keep score. I don't do nice things just for the sake of being nice. Tit for tat. Tick tack toe.


So I call a local half way house for men recovering from drugs and alcohol and offer to donate some furniture that has been collecting dust and mouse droppings in my basement for a long time. I'm too cheap to give anything away. I think I may need it some day. The director accepts my magnanimous offer to get rid of a bunch of crap that should have been put out on the curb years ago. He sends out a couple of guys in a pickup truck. One of the items was a large TV cluttering up the back bedroom on the second floor of my house.

While these guys were big boys they probably weren't in very good shape. What did I expect? They're trying to kick drugs and alcohol, not train for the Olympics. The TV made the trip from floor two to floor one in a barely controlled manner. I should be grateful they didn't drop the thing and let it bounce all the way down. Suffice it to say my walls and wood floors didn't fare too well.

After they left I sat in the stairwell assessing the damage, upset. My stuff got messed up. Now my dining room ceiling has a huge, circular stained area with paint flaking off, courtesy of a leak in a bathroom upstairs. I haven't fixed the leak, preferring to just turn off the water to that bathroom instead. And I haven't gotten anywhere near that water damaged ceiling. That would require a ladder and tools and effort. I just don't look at it anymore.

I called Shorty, who rushed over with a bunch of tools to repair the damaged stairs, which was way too damaged to easily fix. Guys trying to help other guys fix things is the total pinnacle of guy-like action. Nothing ever gets fixed -- there's just a lot of huffing and puffing and flashing of implements. The important thing is I picked up the 1000 lb phone and made the call. I'm writing about it. I called my sponsor. The unimportant thing that had the potential to upset me for days is mostly gone, although my eyes are drawn to the damage like nobody's business.

I try to never get upset about stuff.