Another False Quote From The Last Captain

Yes, another quote from my novel, The Last Captain.  This time it is merely the attribution which is false. People who have been with me on the streets or in court might have heard something like this pass my lips:


“Just because the answer I gave is not the answer you want does not, in any way, render my response invalid.” –Matsuki Mikonos, Chair of the Council of Man


This statement is very infrequently followed by the necessary moment of silence required for full digestion of its meaning. 


Today, the response was the far more common and immediate permutation of, “But I don’t want it that way.” This individual went beyond that simple verbal exhibition of hubris and went on the offensive: “They were rude to me there.”


“And what did they say?” I asked, knowing the answer.


“That they couldn’t help me.”


“And that was the truth. May I ask how that is rude?”


“Well, they gave me some paperwork and told me to get out of line, that they couldn’t help me until it was done.”


“Again, they told you truth and supplied you with the paperwork. I fail to see how that makes them rude. Once you’ve filled out the paperwork, you’ll have done what you can to straighten the situation out.”


They left, without thanking me.


I am certain, in my very bones, that this person will tell the next person they talk to that I am rude, too.


To which I would respond, “Your perceptions of my job performance have no bearing on my actual job performance.”