Although the book offers practical advice on writing effective letters of complaint, I like to keep it nearby for inspiration. I am the sort of person who overreacts. I blow things out of proportion, lose sight of the big picture, and forget to smell the flowers. I choose my battles unwisely and get all worked up about things that probably aren't worth getting worked up about. It's my contention that stupidity and rudeness are growing exponentially, and the only defense is a mighty good offense.
Dumb acts are everywhere.
Taken one by one, these things would barely register on my radar screen, but they add up to a picture of human behavior that is stupefying. Like the grimacing drivers who honk, glare, and swerve away from you in an exaggerated way because you might have been thinking about getting too close to them, even if you didn't. Or it's telephone rage - like the time when, while on deadline at work, it took me seven calls to directory assistance to get the number of a major news magazine in Manhattan. One of the numbers I got connected me to the subscription department for the Christian Campus Crusade, whose taped phone message offered me a downloadable marriage covenant - suitable for framing. You bet I was shocked, appalled, and dismayed.