Dear So and So

[Zen]

Jeeze, I thought I lived in a redneck mecca.
I wonder where this woman got her knowledge of the Mexican Post Office?

[Pax]

Dear co-workers,

Just a little heads-up, as the new person at work I find it decidedly UN-helpful when your way of welcoming to the new job is to give me all the details of who you hate here, why you hate them, and why working here sucks so bad. I'm new, let me enjoy it for a while.

Secondly, for those of you who continuously complain about how hard it is to work 37.5 hours a week for good pay, great benefits, AND in a protected civil service job...I suggest you try a job where you work horrible hours, have to clean up poop/pee/blood/barf, low pay, rotten benefits, and no raise for four years.

Sincerely,

The new gal

[silver]

Dear Germs,

You must be strong and healthy germs and i see that you all have found my body to be a good host for your party. I apologize that my immune system is giving you such a difficult time. however this playful roughhousing that you are doing in my head and abdomen and muscles is keeping me from making my May riding goals.

Do you think that you could possibly move your party elsewhere? My immune cells are tired

silver

[Kitsune06]

Dear Missymaya
FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY AND GOOD.... !!!"

~Kit

[Zen]

Dear Group of Five Women Who Sit In The Back Row At Every Spin Class,

Please shut up during class. Your incessant conversations not only disturb the concentration of those who are actually trying to use this class for training purposes but it is rude and disrespectful to the instructor who is a very nice woman.

Whats the matter with you?

[crazycanuck]

Hey ZenC...

Why not ask them to go on a ride & see if they can keep up with ya.. I'm sure they'll show up with thier make up, purses & handbaskets.. Show dem who's boss!

*slinks far away*

C

[mimitabby]

thanks for letting me see the world through your eyes. It's ugly and bitter and mean spirited. YOu accuse me of things I"ve never done, and you misinterpret my every word and action in a nasty negative and often inaccurate way.

I'm sorry, I guess I can't ever do what you need me to do. I can't figure out what it is! I have tried but I can see it's a waste of my time because no matter what I try, it's going to be wrong.
I valued our relationship so much that I sought counsel with a best friend and our mother (who would really like us to play nice together) and all that did is piss you off worse. I didn't know there was a rule in relationships that problems should be dealt with in secret. I have never lived that way. I learned a long time ago that seeking counsel is a good thing. But for some reason you find it to be an outrage that I would dare talk about you with anyone.
YOu somehow confuse my husband's letter to you as having something to do with me. If I have anything to do with that letter at all, it was to tone it down.
It's amazing that this makes you mad too. You asked for it.
I am starting to realize that you have turned into a nasty meanspirited person who I really don't want to be around, but it's too final for me to actually say this to you, so I am probably going to let your last accusatory letter just sit.
your only sister

[trickytiger]

Dear Woman-On-A-Bike,

I see you riding every Tuesday near my neighborhood as I head to chem class in the morning- you're noticeable becase a.) you have the same jersey on all the time (me too, I'm poor) and ride the same route and b.) you look like you're having so much fun. You look new at it- your mountain bike doesn't quite fit you, and your handling skills are a little wobbly. However, I'm glad to see you every week, and to tell the truth, I'm jealous that you get to ride and I have to go work problems about partial pressures of atmospheric gasses. I also admire your courage to ride alone near traffic AND be new-ish.

Don't worry about the drivers too much- I already tore some old dude a new one when he threatened to run me over simply because I was following the rules of traffic and waiting to turn left (with my hand extended, signaling my intentions) when I was riding home from volunteering the other week.

I know I shouldn't cuss at old folks, even if they yell at me to get off the road and rev the engine while blaring the horn and inching towards my back tire. Since it appeared he received his driver's license sometime in the late 1800's before cars were around, maybe he just didn't know better. Or perhaps he couldn't see well enough to notice that I'm an actual living and breathing person. It's also quite possible that they were late to some crucial Bingo game in the culturally thriving metropolis of downtown Edmonds. I'm also sorry that his wife had to witness my outburst- she looked shocked that such words could emanate from a young woman.

However, I'm both sarcastic and Scottish, and I don't like being messed with. So, there is one less driver that will bother you in this area- he backed down when I got out my cell and threatened to call the police if need be to review Washington State traffic laws.

cheers!
-tricky

[Veronica]

Wow Mimi! What a bummer about your sister. Family is ... well family. I can't imagine having a tremendous rift with any of my siblings, even my redneck brother.

I cherish my sisters and at least one of my brothers and our relationships. My oldest sister, Valerie was diagnosed with tongue cancer in late March. Instead of coming to visit me over spring break, she had part of her tongue removed. When they biopsied her lymph nodes they found cancer in some of them so she is now undergoing chemo and radiation treatments. She's on her third week of 7 or maybe it's 8 weeks of treatment.

We've all rallied around her, my two other sisters and my two brothers, even Mr. Redneck. And the thing is... it would be that way for any one of us. When I showed up at a family reunion covered with bruises my brother threatened to kick my husband's a$$. I had to explain how I'd gotten each and every bruise from mountain biking.

Reading your letter to your sister just reminded me how lucky I am. Now which one am I gonna call...

V.

[maillotpois]

Dear Veronica -

Thanks for making me cry a little.


Dear Mimi -

I am so sorry. I don't really have sisters (long story), but I am sure this is very painful for you.

Dear Teigyr -
I just read the post about the pole dancing, Seven owning b!(ch and WOW. I'm sorry. Loser.

[mimitabby]

yeah, I guess that's life.

[Trek420]

Dear Teigyr -

I just read the post about the pole dancing.

I am so sorry you had to deal with that. Take that lil' pretentious Seven owning (sorry Bikerz, you are not like that and you deserve a Seven) b*itch out to the local hills and ride her legs off.

Also trying to think of the snappy retort like "Oh, tee hee, you'll know about gearing, equipment and how you sound saying that your Seven was maaaaade for you (because they all are) when you ride as much and as well as I do"

Dear Mimitabby, Sorry about your sister.

Dear Siblings, One of whom may read this Thanks for being my siblings.

[Wahine]

...However, I'm both sarcastic and Scottish, and I don't like being messed with....

Dear Trickytiger. Me too. I swear it's genetic, we can't help our behaviour in these situations.

Dear V. Thanks for sharing. I have 3 siblings I feel that way about, the fourth, well...see below.

Dear Mimi. I understand. I have a sister I don't talk to, becuase I'm afraid of what I might say to her (see note to TT above), and it's all I can do to be civil. You can't choose you're family. It is soooooo true.

Dear Buddha of compassion, please guide me towards a place where I can see my sister's suffering and accept it as greater than I can ever understand and allow me to find some compassion for her, even though she self destructing and is messing up her own life as well as those of her children.

[mimitabby]

Dear other TE cool cool ladies
after having a good cry I told Raleighdon about my sister. and HE said
you don't have to answer her nasty letters and you don't have to shut the door.
a great weight was lifted from my shoulders.
So although i still have no relationship with my sister, and she's not going to
ever like me because of things I did when i was 13, at least I don't have to try to defend myself or tell her to go away. Just doing nothing...
ahh
thank you all. Some of it is surely genetic, but in my sister's case, she suffered a lot of abuse and neglect by adults but continues to blame me, another child/victim. ah well.
thank you. thank you all.

[sulis]

Dear driver of the huge white truck,

Yes, I heard you. How could anyone not hear that huge engine. And I have to admit that as I heard your truck behind me my first thoughts were of an aggressive driver barreling down the road - because lets face it, that is what most people associate with those big trucks. But you know, you definitely restored my confidence in humanity by doing what you did. Thank you for noticing little old me on my bike. (Although I have no idea how you saw me from your 4 story truck). But thank you. Thank you for recognizing that when the other car pulled quickly into the bike lane cutting me off, my only options were to either ram into the back of the car or swerve into your lane forcing you to hit me. So thank you. Thank you for being an attentive driver and giving me room to swerve over so we could all avoid a horrible accident.

Very humbly and gratefully yours