By Myra Gabor
Mr. Complainer. We’ve all seen him. He always feels like nothing is good enough and that everyone is conspiring to hurt him. In this case, our Mr. Complainer, aka Dale Lightwood, is an Englishman on vacation in France. Dale knows that France would be great if all the French people left. It would be great if the cottage he rented didn’t feel so much like a cottage. It would be great if the nature reserve at his back door wasn’t so full of nature. It would be great if he could drink no or all of his Burgundy wine. In other words, his vacations are a continuation of his everyday life. His wife calls it the little man syndrome. Dale himself admits that he is not a big man physically. He knows that if he were a few inches taller, all his problems would go away.
He was sure that at 5 feet 5 inches he would not be respected by anyone for being short. He was sure that people would look at him and laugh at him. That’s why when he knocked his seat under the car, he refused to pick it up. He would not give the town onlookers the satisfaction. He was sure that he was the center of their attention. Unfortunately, without his seat, he could not see over the steering wheel when going uphill. When he saw the big truck coming towards him, he could not apply the brakes. You see, the seat got stuck under the brake pedal. This near accident left him shaking on the side of the road. The truck did not stop to check if he was okay. Poor Dale. All his frustrations came to a head when he got back to the car and continued driving to the cabin, and the cyclist in front of him gave him the middle finger. He was sure that the cyclist did just that. Temporarily unconscious. When he woke up, the cyclist was lying on the side of the road. Both the cyclist and the bike were slumped over. Dale did not tell anyone.
Dale doesn’t want anyone to know what happened. He will do whatever it takes to erase all evidence. But human nature being what it is, people need to talk about things.
So Dale begins a conversation with his tall man. The tall man relieves all his fears and night sweats. The tall man could be his alter ego, the one who is fearless, the one who knows what to do in any situation. It could be his conscience. Or it could be his shadow telling him to act like the tall, confident man he wants others to see him as.
His wife had grown fed up with him. She knew he was drinking again. Oh, yes, Dale was an on-and-off alcoholic. She was worried he was hurting the kids.
Is Dale’s view of the world right? Or is he really crazy? This is a fascinating story. You’ll want to read it from beginning to end to see what happens to him.
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score:5/5
