Meant to write this article for some time now, but today finally is the right moment methinks:
I am a
vengative person.
This is a strategy I developed in school, where - being one year younger than the rest - I was the object of severe harrassing and bullying. One day a guy from a higher class asked me why I did not e.g. destroy the bicycles of the guys that were bullying me, and I answered that they would beat the shit out of me for that. To which he replied: "But they do that everyday anyway, no?". That m ade sense to me and I started the same day: One would touch me, I would slit his bicycle tires. One would steal my jacket and throw it into the bin, I would get up in the middle of class, walk over to him and break all his pens (which were expensive those years, he was in for a good rubbing by his parents). Basically: One hurt me, I hurt him double, my revenge measures were always fierce and out of measure from parents and teachers POVs and executed without at all regarding the consequences it would have for me.
Adopting this strategy had two effects: Most important: After twoo weeks (and some heavy beating indeed) the harrassing and bullying stopped, it became to expensive to confront the "madman". The other effect was that I had a really bad name with the teachers as I usually used the hours of class, under their eyes, to pay back what I had received (simply because my class mates would not dare to confront me physically in class), so I had a long list of reprimands.
Later in life I refined this strategy: I learned to remain calm and friendly on the outside to people who harmed me in any way and then strike when they least expected it, often much (up to years) later. I remember a guy who set me up in a fraud in the early 80s that cost me all my money, my house, car and everything, left me with a bag on the street. He got free out of the courts (as you in order to sentence for fraud have to prove the fraud is intentionally, which often not is possible), and he had written all his patrimony on his wife so I and the other victims could not get a cent from him. It took me about two years to slowly, gram by gram, buy a significant amount of coke that I then placed in his car (I had kept a casual friendly contact with the guy because I needed access to get his prints on the plastic bag I used) and let the cops know where to look. Result: He got 7 yrs for trafficking and died in prison of a heart attack. He never knew what had hit him (better so, he would have had me killed).
So, I always keep a mental "black list" of people that will get hit by something one day, last year I added a guy here in Mallorca: As you might recall I got contracted by a couple on a handshake basis to work as a news manager for their
social network page last January and February, writing daily articles about what was on in Mallorca in German, English and Spanish. To make a long stroy short, I never saw a cent for my whole effort, and the couple played the old "my-wife-contracted-you-talk-to-her" and "my-husband-controls-the-budget-talk-to-him" game claiming they had no money whatsoever. This was the start of my economic porblems, two month working time and desperately needed income lost, from which I still have not recuperated. So far so bad, but what really made me furious (and thats when I start thinking revenge) is that in April they had enough money to buy a small sailing vessel and then went sailing in front of my house every afternoon, basically with my money.
So, I decided that when I dont get my money (and there is no chance I will ever get it), well, they dont get to go sailing, and decided to sink the boat. The cost for them to refloat it would equal the amount they owed me and satisfy my vengative side. I prepared the esecution of my plan by studying a smiliar boat to get a feel for the internal distance of the double hulls, bit by bit aquired new scuba gear (mine had got lost when my boat capsized in the big storm in 2009) and even bought an old hand drill to be able to happily drill away under water without making noise (the boat lies right in front of their house). Finally in August I was ready to strike.
But, something made me change my mind: I met my ex wife Joana at the wedding of her niece, and as we both find those family clebrations quite dull, we decided to take a few hours off and headed for San Telmo (the village I live) to have a few beers and talk about the old times. When we set in a bar with view to the sea I showed her the boat, told her the story behind it and explained my plan to her (I was just waiting for new moon to execute it). Now, Joana is quite the saint and for religious and philosophical reasons totally opposed to the idea of revenge, and she had some arguments that were sensible enough to make me skip the whole idea: First, it was not the boats´fault what happened, why harm it instead of the persons responsible? 2nd, the old Spanish refrain: "Life and time puts everybody in his place". and third she reminded me that I am of the firm conviction that San Telmo is a "magical" place in the sense that you think or imagine something and it happens (which is true, but I had forgotten about that in my obsession with the couple), and I should simply imagine what I wanted to happen if I truly believed that.
Well, with the plan skipped, I did not think about the whole thing anymore, but you would not believe it, end of September, when going to my traditional breakfast bar, I see a lot of people on the beach - and the boat! In perfect state, sitting straight on its sword buried 2 metres into the sand, and one could see instantly that you would need a crane to get it out from there:
About two weeks later, when the strand was cleared, the guy did just that: A "grua" (small crane) came by, lifted the boat on a flatbed and took it to Port d´Andratx for repairs (the owner and guy who owes me is the one at the rear of the truck):
I think the whole operation (including a fine from the Coast Authoritie for contamination of the beach) cost more or less exactly what he ows me, and I have not done anything but enjoy the sight...
So, again its proven: What you think in San Telmo will happen, and Life and Time put everybody in his place.
I think I have changed my attitude about revenge.
Rattler
