I like to help people. I like to do nice things. It's in my nature.
So a couple days ago my friend said her house was ridiculously hot and that she and her room mates had no AC. Well, it just so happened that I had an extra AC unit that wasn't being used. So I offered to bring it over and install it. After they reluctantly accepted my help, I brought it over. Now, mind you, those units are heavy and awkward. I scraped up and bruised my arms in transit. But, I got it to their house.
They are basement dwellers. So I lugged the unit downstairs and looked for a window to put it in. Well, all the window wells were the wrong size. Bummer.
It was getting late, so I promised to return. Two days later I found myself there again trying to jury-rig this air conditioner in their abode. However, when I started over to the place in the kitchen where I left it, I was accosted by one of the residents. She said, in an irritated tone of voice, "Whose is that?" To which I replied, "Mine." Then she said, "It takes up the space of a whole person, are you going to move it?" A little bothered, but still in a helpful mood, I said, "Yes, I brought this here to alleviate your heat problem." Then I creaked over and manhandled it over to the window ledge. Now I had garnered some negative attention.
As I was trying to put it in, another tenant came behind me asking how it would work, doubting it was a good idea, and left me in a huff. So after I tried for a while to get it to sit in these undersized windows, and getting no positive support, I decided to stop. I put the window screen back in (better than it was before), and put the unit in my car to bring it back home. I hadn't left for more than a couple minutes before my friend text messaged me saying that her room mates were upset. Apparently while I was trying to put it in the window I stepped on one of her room mates' garden (As it turned out, it was a squash plant that was under-watered, malnourished, and not producing squash). I apologized of course and told her that I'd get her a new plant (I checked on it the next day and the plant was fine, just with a few mashed leaves). But if that weren't enough, on top of the title of 'garden destroyer' this same room mate claimed that I broke their window (which was a total lie, the screen wasn't completely in the slot, but it was in better than before; she just had probably never checked).
Either way I was very disinclined to ever offer them my services again. I went to their house to give of my time, energy, and one of my belongings to provide them with a little comfort. I would have expected a little appreciation for my effort, but not only did I get none, but I got an ear full of pessimism, irritation, and ultimately was blamed for invented and exaggerated maladies. It makes me not want to help people. Or at the very least, not want to help those ladies.
Chivalry is not dead because men are all jerks, but because women feel inconvenienced by it, or think that they lose their individuality by letting men serve them. And, it's sad. I have been accused of all sorts of ridiculous things in the name of chivalry. All I can say is, ladies, you blew it.
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