This vehicle, at the outdoor museum in Goff’s, California, does not work well with others.
I usually got good grades in school. But there was one grade I never scored well at. I never achieved an “O” for “Outstanding” at working well with others. In fact, some of my teachers criticized me for this lack of social skills. Damn you Miss Durklemeyer!
But now that I’m much older I realize that it isn’t just me. Nobody works well with others. Not even Miss Durklemeyer.
This has been very evident to me while dealing with some recent challenges. Early this month my father-in-law, Jake, passed away. And he passed away at an inconvenient time. Damn you Jake! Had Jake been more cooperative, he would have stuck around to deal with the aftermath of an uncooperative tenant.
This tenant had been evicted from one of Jake’s rentals just a week before Jake died. You can read more on her by clicking this link. She was evicted because she wasn’t being cooperative with paying the rent. And she was a hoarder, and she left behind a house and yard full of junk. Damn her!
My wife and I are in the middle of dealing with Jake’s estate. And on top of that we must clean up the property that the evicted hoarder left full of junk. Thus far we have spent nearly $3,000 of estate money on this cleanup, and have hauled away four 30 cubic-yard dumpsters full of rubbish.
But we’ve had help. Help from workers whom we’ve hired. Or are they tortoises? Help from workers who’ve required rides to and from the cleanup site. And help from workers who said they were coming back to help more, and never showed up.
We pay well, but money doesn’t always overcome the human condition. That condition of not working well with others. Damn you condition, and damn you, workers!
We need Jake’s death certificate to handle a number of paperwork issues for the estate. But we’re going on a month since Jake’s uncooperative demise, yet still no certificate. I understand this is normal for our underfunded county. Apparently nobody is allowed to die here, because the county can’t afford it. Damn you, taxpayers, and damn you bureaucrats!
Property appraisers get the value all wrong. Relatives get angry about being left out of the will. And doctor’s offices continue to call, to remind us of upcoming appointments for Jake, even though we’ve told them he’s dead.
Tenants don’t pay the rent. Handymen gouge us when charging for repairs on rentals. And visitors stop by when we’re busy, then stay too long. Damn you all!
Nobody works well with others. This is not my own jeremiad; everyone has this problem. There is no such thing as teamwork. We humans will never cooperate fully with each other.
But maybe it’s a good thing. Maybe this keeps us independent, unique, and interesting. Otherwise maybe we’d be a bunch of robots, slaves to conformity, and dull as dishwater.
I’ve learned that if I want to work with others I must have patience and a sense of humor. Meditating on my omphalos also helps. It calms me down, and prevents me from throttling my uncooperative compatriots.
And as I relax and settle down I reflect that I, too, can be a pain in the ass. I’m not so easy to work with, myself. I demand much from others, and get pissed off when they don’t cooperate. I try to hide my anger, but apparently my red face and creased forehead give me away. Damn my face!
Sometimes I give up and just do the job myself. Yeah, that’s teamwork, right?
I realize I’ve been this way since grade school. At least according to Miss Durklemeyer. And still, I have not learned my lesson.
I’m like everyone else. I do not, and will never, work well with others.
Categories: Humor
Chasing Unicorns 
I have missed your sarcasm and wit. I was so glad to see you in my reader this morning!
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Thanks. I’ve been very busy. But it’s starting to look like I may have some time again to spend wasting it on this important blog.
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Tippy, you are unique. Well, maybe not in that particular quality, but in everything else. Four 30-cubic-yard dumpsters, you say? And you’re still working on it? Holy crap! Love this: “Apparently nobody is allowed to die here, because the county can’t afford it.” I think I’ve just found the key to immortality–move to your county! Where even your doctor doesn’t believe it when you croak. You crack me up, Tippy. Keep your chin up, vent as needed, we’re here for you. 🙂
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Thanks, Joan. Yes you can live a long time in this county, because when you die, nobody believes it. Nice hearing from you.
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this post seems to work well, Tippy!
i’ve seen others more cooperative
in societies, other than ours,
but alas, we must try
to somehow work
with ourselves 🙂
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i would
like to see
some of those
societies where
eveyone is cooperative, but
i fear i might end up in their stewpot
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Reblogged this on Cordelia's Mom, Still and commented:
What a great post! Do you work well with others? I know I don’t. Enjoy!
(Comments closed here – leave comments on Tippy’s site.)
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Thanks for the repost, Cordelia. Hmm, looks like we’re working well together at spreading my message. But I doubt it will last.
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You never know. I’m very popular (she says hopefully).
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Very sorry for the loss to you and your family. I had a feeling the time had come.
You worked very well with me on Gibber Jabberin so I beg to differ on your not working well with others. Maybe it’s just insubordinate others you don’t work well with.
Welcome back!
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Thanks Gibber. We miss Jake, but his time indeed had come. He was very ill. The night before his death he was in terrible pain and having hallucinations. My wife and I were up most of the night with him. We felt relieved when he passed, because we knew he was out of his misery.
As for working well with you, I don’t know how that could have happened. You were always insubordinate. Maybe it’s because I was afraid of you. 😉
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Well I’m glad you’ve all found some relief/comfort in the end of his suffering. All the best with the horrible tenant situation. What a nightmare.
Pft. I was awesome to work with. 😉
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So happy to see you back in my mailbox, Tippy, however I’m sorry to hear about Jake and the troubles you continue to have dealing with the aftermath. Why does it always have to be hard?
You are not the first person I’ve heard lament about the inability to find workers who are willing to work. That actually makes me sadder than anything else.
Good luck in your battle. As Victo Doloro said, your wit and sarcasm are still intact. That’s a very good thing!
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Thanks, Joanne. I’m back, in limping mode. I’m still pretty busy with all the estate-handling stuff, but am now able to spare a few moments for the blog, also. Yes, finding workers willing to work can be challenging. We have found one, for sure, and we make sure to pay him well. Don’t want to lose that guy.
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Looking forward to seeing more of you when you get a chance.
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