First, I would like to thank you all for your welcoming and kind words.
Now, a few specific responses...
Arthur: No, I had never heard of Mr Pinette before, but after googling him, that pic does resemble him a little. What I get more often is that I look like John Popper of the Blues Traveler. Of course, no Still photo can fully represent what is really dynamic. I guess you'd have to picture the beard, goatee, ponytail, candy-purple wheelchair, black leather hat, and other accessories I am never without.
Crumpet: Thank you for noticing that I am, in fact, not retarded. I admit that I have lurked on and off for some time. I was finally moved to post by familial pressures surrounding my mother's progressing Alzheimer's and the total warfare that has broken out over her care, but that will be another post.
Gopher: Nice to see a fellow Minne-Snow-tan! What part of the Land of 10,000 Taxes do you hail from?
Oh, and you would be right, that 'elder' is younger than me! His primary qualification, as far as I can tell, is a single-minded ability to delude himself and a dogged persistence at his duties. Let's just say that this guy never awed me.
Journey-on: Yes, it was a very hurtful thing for him to have said, but seeing as I was already quite well aware which of us was the clever fellow and which was the dunce, it rather outraged me more than having any actual sting.
Fools can’t hurt you unless you let them.
Kitten whiskers: They say the best revenge is to live well, if that's the case I am having a splendid revenge indeed. I own my own business, more than enough house and land for what I like to do; my fiancée has a college education that I helped her get, and a great job at 3M. We have a relatively new vehicle, and have all that we need, a lot of what we merely want, and some things we never expected.
Life is good, I guess you could say revenge is sweet, but do they see it that way?
One must not forget they are the masters of rationalization and having it all ways. This plays into the similarities with 1984 that Wildfire mentioned:
Let's examine four possibilities, shall we?
I'm a witness and prospering: Jehovah's blessing is plain to see!
I'm a witness and destitute: I'm being tested, suffering for Jehovah's name!
I've left the witnesses and am prospering: See how Satan rewards his own!
I've left the Witnesses and am destitute: Jehovah has withdrawn his blessing!
There’s no way you can win if you let them frame the debate!
Good thing my happiness does not require their consternation because you can't win against such willful ignorance; you can only refuse to engage it.
And thus, in spite of their persistent delusions, they lose.
