Grin and Bare it

Some words of comfort for Mr. Kimball who is currently stretched tight on a rack over at Updates and having his innards played with; it will all end well.

Mr. Reynolds went through a far worse process than you are currently going through and came out the other side with his reputation enhanced. It was only the actions of the lobotomised children that he had with him to keep himself company that threw the wagon off the track again.

Having had to endure the dryness and tedium of the Heflin exchanges, the List has revolted and decided to go for a cycle of emotion instead. The phase will pass, like everything does and another old case will come under the microscope or someone else will say something that gets everyone’s thermometer rising. Not much fun of course if you happen to be at the center of it all, so thanks for being the patsy this time round Paul.

Having said that, they are lining up at the shooting gallery somewhat. What do you do? Paul has four choices;

1. Ignore it and not respond at all. That way it dies very quickly.

2. Fight back hard, matching insult for insult.

3. Reply but in a calm and friendly manner, so undermining any malevolence or spite.

4. Throw your hands up, admit you were wrong and shrug your shoulders.

At the moment, Paul has gone for number 2, an understandable response. Trouble is, it prolongs the whole episode and can get very bitter and personal. But there are advantages to this because this sort of exchange does in the end induce a higher form of intimacy and yes, even respect at the end of it all.

If you’ve been following the Mckinnon extravaganza, which option do you think Paul should take?