Fleeing the Plantation

[user328]

Jeff, one of the other pop peddlers, has a Boston terrier named Ted. He's one of the handsomest dogs I've ever met. His face looks almost human. He seems to like me a lot. When I pet him, he jumps up to try and lick my face.

[user328]

In fact, I seldom go inside the day shelter anymore, except to pee. I discovered Jimmy Dean sausage, egg, and cheese croissants at 7-Eleven, and they blow away the god awful breakfast at the shelter. I occasionally get one for dinner, in case the night shelter has no food.

The Jimmy Dean sandwich comes wrapped in heavy wax paper, sealed with a label. If you microwave it that way, the steam will get trapped in the wrapper and make the sandwich soggy. Open it and turn the sandwich right side up before you nuke it.

#TheMoarYouKnow

[user328]

I never accelerate towards a red light. When the light turns red, I immediately take my foot off the pedal and coast towards it. I mean you're gonna have to brake in a few seconds anyway. May as well save gas and brake wear.

[user328]

I missed the guest posts on the previous page. I guess they hadn't been approved when the page turned. You should register since you post prolifically, Guest.

I was most definitely a victim of narcissistic abusers for four years. The emotional damage they caused is very real. Yes, it's also an opportunity to get away from them, as well as hopefully avoid others like them in the future, but there's no denying what they are or what they did. I've done a lot of research, and they check every single box.

[user328]

Also, as I said earlier, I stopped quoting all but very short posts. The requisite editing to isolate the parts I want to respond to would be an absolute nightmare on a cellphone. I'll reference things said in some posts, but I won't always explain which post I'm responding to.

[user328]

Squash, zucchini, broccoli, and cauliflower.

Don't boil them, friends. The result is so... basic. Simmer them in butter.

[user328]

It's overcast and balmy right now. It's supposed to be 95 today, and I've no doubt it'll find a way to get there.

[user328]

Guest, I reckon I do find this thread cathartic. I'm completely at ease knowing I can post whatever and how much I want to here.

[user328]

With the stepmother and auntie, I wasn't allowed to express an opinion or negative emotion ever. The stepmother would even get annoyed if I grunted or groaned when I was in pain. On occasions when I dared explain my line of reasoning, the stepmother would always dismiss it as being rebellious or absurd, or as an attempt to be edgy.

Any time I started talking about something that didn't interest her - which was basically anything that wasn't about her or her shitlord sister - she would reflexively turn her head and tilt it upward in a rather snooty looking posture to show her lack of interest in anything I had to say.

[user328]

And whenever I was at my dad's house, she would make a show of striking up a conversation with him and completely ignoring me. I would wait a few minutes for her to come up for air, and if she didn't I would leave.

[user328]

I don't know what my dad's particular beef is with me. He'll never come out with it. Instead, he'll do passive aggressive things like send a plate of food or a dessert over for Auntie, but not one for me.

Whenever my dad and the stepmother went to a cookout at their friends' house, they'd bring Auntie and me a plate. They made sure I knew which plate was for her and which one was for me because they picked out the worst possible cuts of meat for me.

[user328]

The people who had the cookouts would have, under different circumstances, probably preferred to be friends with me if the stepmother weren't in the picture. They saw exactly how she treated me, and were disgusted by it.

Unfortunately, associating with her automatically made them potential flying monkeys. I coached the woman on what kinds of things she shouldn't mention to the stepmother or Auntie, and she understood and cooperated with me on that point. She drove Auntie to dialysis and fixed her lunch afterwards, two days a week. She was quite willing to follow my suggestions to avoid drama and conflict.

[user328]

The main flying monkey, a repeat single mother and career charity case in her 40s, even expressed shock and dismay at one dressing down the stepmother gave me when we were alone together afterwards. This woman has a weak personality despite her superiority complex, however, and wouldn't risk losing the material benefits she derives from being friends with the stepmother to stick up for me.

[user328]

The stepmother always stuck to a schedule on holidays and at birthday parties. She always had to host or otherwise control the event. She had to start early, end it at whatever time she had decided, and run everybody off at that time. I'm pretty sure the guests found the abrupt and unceremonious ending awkward.

[user328]

I'm at the park now. It started sprinkling a few minutes ago, and the air got still and stuffy sitting there in the car at the day shelter. The park is situated in a larger open area, so there's always at least some breeze.

[user328]

Looking back over the last few posts, I can see that the stepmother's already small circle has the potential to get smaller as more people become disenchanted with her. The experts say that old narcissists end up alone, and I can see where they're right.

[user328]

I do scroll up every so often to check for new guest posts. Don't worry, I'll try to answer them in the order they arrive.

[user328]

Guest, I realize that narcissists probably can't help being the way they are, but that doesn't make them any less dangerous. A snake can't refrain from biting you either, so it's best to avoid him.

That said, I believe every adult is responsible for his own behavior, even if he has to go to lengths to fake being a decent human being. The idea that an adult, especially an older one, is incapable of exercising any form of self restraint is one I can't wrap my head around.

[user328]

Another thing the stepmother would do is hit me with a barrage of questions in a single text message. Here was one way I could get the better end of the deal. I would only answer the last question in the stack, or the question whose answer would be the most likely to satisfy her.

[user328]

As with most people, the chance that a narcissist can outwit me once I catch on to them is very low. I've been in survival mode many times in my life. Consequently, I've developed the kind of hypervigilance that causes me to consider every possible angle and war game it.

War gaming is when you follow every possible sequence of events and consequences to its probable conclusion and select the optimum response. You have to be really fast to keep up with events in realtime.