Indefinite borrowing is for common thieves!

Today I woke up in one of my foul moods that demand that I let loose at those ill-bred social misfits who do not follow the simplest rules of human interaction. I am lashing out today at those people who borrow and never return what they have borrowed. Yes, I am inviting that Southend-On-Sea reader who commented on my Crank Caller blog post, to comment on this one and again accuse me of being judgemental, holier than thou, ill-bred myself and other such mumbo jumbo; just as long as I have my say.


I am not talking about the usual culprits, the bad debtors who borrow money and never pay back their loans. I will leave the bank managers and other financiers to tell that tale. I am on about the not-so-clever imp who will borrow your jacket because he forgot his at home and is freezing. That becomes the last time that you see your beloved jacket. I am also talking about the work colleague who borrows your pen so that he can "quickly jot down something." The word “quickly” eventually turns out to be a synonym for the word “eternity.” Forget not as well, the Dennis-the-Menace type of neighbour who will borrow the hose to water his garden, then discover an agricultural secret that the rest of us have not yet come to appreciate: Apparently using other people's hoses to water your garden makes your plants thrive!


The worst culprits as far as I am concerned are the friends who ask to “borrow” the sports section or even the whole copy of your favourite Sunday newspaper. After that is done, you will be lucky if your paper is returned with just a few pages missing. The greater part of it will be crumpled up and so dirty that reading it will be a nightmare, so your only option will be to donate it to the trash can. The most common scenario is that your newspaper will not be returned, so donations to the trash can will tend to be far and few!


So to all those guilty of this ailment of not returning what you have borrowed, remember that borrowing is not the same as acquiring, just as much as lending and giving are not the same. You are no better than a common pick pocketing thief! You kill the spirit of sharing among the rest of us and in those unlikely instances that you do return something, try for once to take it back in the same (if not better) condition that it was when lent to you. Now that my deed of polishing the badly mannered has been done, I can get on with the rest of my day. A good day to all my dear readers, including the who one who commented on my Crank Caller post! and who is invited to comment on this one!