Concession Stand

The Scorpio not only enjoys winning, he has to win. Something inside him, dies when he loses, even in small ways, yet oddly enough, a Pluto man normally practices good sportsmanship.

Used to think that was such a crock since I've always been a good loser. Or at least that's what I used to think. After all, the art of compromise - the act of give and take - is what keeps us all from descending into barbaric behaviour.

Had my childish illusions shattered when I realized today that I actually hate conceding even an inch.

You see today at a meeting I was ambushed. Ambushed - as in leapt out at me bloody fangs bared. An entire pack of hungry wolves came charging at me with their unreasonable demands as I walked in unawares. Totally unsuspecting of the sudden attack, I almost capitulated to all their asinine ultimatums.

Wolf : Give it to us! One hour! That's all! Give in or die!
Paul : I don't wanna die! Let's compromise!
Wolf : Give it up now!
Paul : Fine, fine, just leave me alone.

Tag-teamed and strong-armed me into submission so I gave away an hour of operating time at gunpoint.

Which left me chafing for the next hour. Seriously. Such wimpy submission to force majeure only leaves me irritated as hell. Having given that entire foot of concession, I actually felt a little part of me die.


Dammit! I can't even look at myself!
Seriously. Forget about calm and sensible. Half an hour later I confronted the alpha wolf himself to rescind my offer given under duress. Drink in hand, he'd obviously been celebrating his earlier victory. But this time I'd gotten him alone - without the rest of his greedy mongrels in tow.

Wolf : Yeah, what do you want?
Paul : I'm not giving you an hour. Nada. Not happening. Like ever.
Wolf : What happened to compromise?
Paul : Fuck that.

Of course I didn't express myself in so many words. But I finally managed to whittle him down to ten minutes extra. Not very much when you think about it but the thought still hurts.

Only an inch but I still hate the concession.