Taking the blame
We have all had to take the blame at some time. At times, we’ve missed
taking it, too, or someone else has taken it for us. Some people insist
that, “what goes around, comes around”.
My plumber mate recently invited me to the launching of his new boat.
Gus doesn’t get time to go fishing much these days, but had discarded
his 12-foot “tinny” for a new top-of-the-range fibreglass sportsman
runabout.
He won’t say what it all cost him, and has had a difficult time convincing
his wife, Floss, that “it was a bargain he couldn’t pass up”. He says
it amounted to not much more than a straight swap for the tinny –
with a bit of plumbing work thrown in.
Floss hasn’t accepted his “story”, and continues to search his pockets
for receipts. But she and Gus, and their boys Tom and Greg and I,
gathered at the boat ramp for the official launching.
Gus was all agog and pedantic about how to take it clear without
the slightest possibility of a scratch or bump. The boys were more
interested in the outboard and its power, and the possibility of knee-boarding,
than the tasks Gus had given them.
The new runabout was soon afloat in all its beauty. I held the bow
rope while Floss drove the car and trailer to its parking place. Gus
loaded the esky and food basket while the boys fought, trying to be
the first behind the wheel. This was pointless as there was no way
Gus wouldn’t be first in the driver’s seat.
We hadn’t gone 50m when Floss, who had to be satisfied with sitting
astern, raised a shout. The floor was awash with sea water. The bungs
were safely back in the car, where Gus had put them for safekeeping.
The boys were the ones who copped it, however. If they had been concentrating
and more willing to help, the rapid return to shore and Gus’s sprint
to the car wouldn’t have been necessary.
Fortunately, after a lot of muttering and tittering, everyone let
the matter drop and we all enjoyed a great day’s boating. Perhaps
it says something about me, but I couldn’t let the matter drop completely
and raised it with Gus over a few drinks in his shed.
Blaming others comes easily for most of us, and I chided Gus for
his attack on the boys, who had been almost as excited as he was.
“Well even Adam blamed Eve,” said Gus.
“True,” I agreed, “but then they were both thrown out of the Garden
by the ‘Boss’, and some feel that wasn’t fair on Eve.”
“Well,” Gus replied thoughtfully, “I guess when you are the biggest,
or the boss, you can plant the blame where you like.”
Floss entered the shed looking like thunder. “Listen you,” she snapped
at Gus, “next time your short of cash, you leave my cash jar alone
and raid your own kitty. I’m sick of subsidizing your lifestyle. I
want that money back by tonight or you can cook your own meals.”
“Darn kids have set me up again,” Gus muttered, as Floss stormed
out of the shed.
I hope you don’t get the blame at your place.
