REJECTION CAME EARLY and QUICKLY....zuki takes one for the team

Good Morning Gormandizers,

It’s Funny how we handle rejection. Some get angry; some are humiliated, while others blame it on something far removed from the discussion. However one handles it, rejection continues to be one of my biggest fears. I often times ask myself, “what’s the worst that could happen?” So I either experience the worst case scenario, or I’m pleasantly surprised, but nothing happens unless one is willing to take a risk.

A prime example of this happened just a few days ago while visiting with one of our own at the Candlelight or something like that. The discussion primarily consisted of politics, financial reform, and the bloodthirsty Russians lobbing shells at Europe's largest nuclear facility. There was even a brief discussion of Fall fashions, but got interrupted when Lauren walked over to us. Lauren is a tall beautiful bartender who I lust after continuously, but she considers me harmless which of course infuriates me. She went out of her way to explain to us that her mother was coming in and to be on our best behavior. We in turn lied and said we would.

Lauren’s mother appeared some fifteen minutes later taking a seat at the opposite end of the bar. She was also tall and it was evident to me she kept herself in good shape, but couldn’t make out her facial features. Facing straight forward I was looking into a 8′ X 8′ window that tended to silhouette Lauren’s mom by the afternoon sun, so it was clear I would need to approach her for the final check-over.

After 15 minutes of sizing her up, I thought I’d grease the wheels a bit and buy her a drink to break the ice. Lauren delivered the drink but instead of getting credit for it, she indicated it was from me and my cretin friend! This of course brought my associate into the mix which by any standard would kill most deals involving a woman. But before I could clarify the situation, Lauren’s mom pushed away from the bar and walked straight out the door! All it took was one glance at my good friend and she hit the floor on a dead run! It couldn't have been me....right?

Stupefied I looked over at Lauren seeking an explanation. In complete seriousness she explained to us that mom needed to check on her dogs and would return. “Shit Lauren she was only there 20 minutes, you’d have thought she’d take care of her dogs prior to stopping by” I whined. “She has no intention of coming back does she?” I continued, but Lauren stuck to her story. The dough-head sitting next to me thought the drama was funny and indicated to me how much he enjoyed being a ‘fly in the ointment.’ I insisted he was more of a ‘turd in the punchbowl.’ This kept him quiet as he pondered its meaning.

While I can’t say for certain I was rejected outright given the double-headed gargoyle mother had to choose from. I highly suspect had this been handled with a little more thought perhaps I could have won the day. We’ll never know.

zuki