Learning How to Deal with Verbal Abuse

I'm reading The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense by Suzette Haden Elgin.  It's given me a lot of tools and strategies that I can use when someone commits a verbal assault against me. Too many times, I've reflected on how I could have handled such an attack better. Thanks to this book, I can hear the cues, detect the words and the subtle direction that a person is taking to twist the knife. Now that I know this, I can take on all verbal attackers!

One Lie

I wanted to help an associate who'd run into a challenge.  I felt her story is worthy of going to the media.

So, I worked by contacts and got an audience with a reporter and a producer.

The problem is that they saw a discrepancy in her story and, it was quite clear, that she had lied about portions of it.

I was embarrassed.

While most of the story is true, the one lie destroyed her credibility.

I can no longer help her.

There was an attorney who once helped a man get out of his jail.  He offered to handle the case for free on one condition:

He can never lie.  The lawyer said if he ever caught him in a lie, he would get off the case.

The guy never lied and the lawyer got him off.

And, so, thinking of that situation, I opted out of helping her.

Never lie...it doesn't help.

Gotta give them props

I'm not a Patriots fan.  They have a swag that's annoying.

I'm not a Tom Brady fan.  After he disrespected President Obama  by not showing up when the President saluted the team.

Plus, I don't like Trump...who supported the Patriots.

But, they staged an amazing comeback...coming from almost certain defeat to a triumph.

Well, despite my ill feelings toward the team, I have to give them their props.

Congrats New England Patriots!  What an exciting victory!

Leave your faucet dripping

Whenever I go out of town in the winter, I leave a little drip in my faucet to guard against pipes freezing.  One year, I went to the Caribbean but when I left, it was 40 degrees in Chicago. While there, I noticed that Chicago had gone into a deep freeze. Within an hour of getting home, my pipes burst.  I'm lucky it happened when I got home and that saved me, perhaps thousands of dollars.

So, a tip to the wise is crucial.  A little drip will save you a LOT!