I play football every Wednesday night at the Oxford Brookes University, up on the hill overlooking Oxford town. Ever since I started playing up there, one of the other guys who plays has really annoyed me. He is a good player himself, but he constantly moans and curses whenever anyone else makes a mistake. If you misjudge a pass, he will exclaim, “Oh for fuck’s sake!”
This is a real pain because it makes it harder to play well. It brings something negative into the air, and makes more mistakes more probable.
However, a few weeks ago this guy’s brother died, suddenly… a heart-attack I think. He still comes out to play football on Wednesday nights, but now he doesn’t curse and moan at all. He just plays, and doesn’t say anything. Now that he’s stopped complaining, I wish he’d start again. I feel strangely guilty about his silence.
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