About Posses

Post 1373:

You never want to be the character in the story saying, “You’re the only one I can trust.” First of all, this is a seriously overused motivator. It usually works in books and movies, because it supposedly makes the other character feel sorry or guilty. I think it should do the opposite. “I’m all you’ve got?” would be an appropriate rejoinder. “What did you do to piss everyone else off?” is another reasonable query.

When my life turns to crap, which it inevitably will, I want to be able to expeditiously form a posse to help me wade through the muck. Throwing up a signal for your posse is way more pimp than wanly pleading to one person that they’re the only one that can help.

How do we become posse people instead of pleading people? There’s some luck involved, obviously. Sometimes we are isolated by our jobs or by our health. Bummer. Most of the time, though, some control can be exercised.

Being a good friend is never a bad idea. Doing favors. Getting to the point where you don’t think of favors as favors is even better. Your world is your world—you’ve got to put some work in.

Joining somebody else’s posse on occasion isn’t a bad idea. It’ll come back to you when you need it most.

One more thing. Don't get mad if the guy you hang out with after work a couple times a month doesn’t show up to your posse. Superficial friends are fine and have their place. It’s better to know where you stand so you can cross them off your list of possible posse people.

Why would I write this? Because I’m reading another western, dammit. There’s a lot of posses in westerns. That’s about all it takes to send my mind on a tangent. It’s the drugs. Cheers and see you after.