We were exasperated with a certain family member who left the country in a cloud of secrecy. It was agreed weeks before that we were to meet with this person for a proper send-off as well as the lending of said person's car to my mom both for safekeeping and to help us do our regular chores. Lo! The Day of the Departure and had we not texted the person what time the flight was, we wouldn't know that the person was already in the airport, waiting to board.

It wasn't that we didn't get to borrow the car. The person was the one who brought up the lending in the first place. It was the common courtesy to let your family members know that, hey, you were already going to travel across an ocean and then some, stay at this or that hotel in x destination and return after x no. of weeks.

My mom was furious, and rightily so. I thought this person had already changed, what with all the good fortune and blessings, only to be disappointed at how the change has been for the worse. Money is truly the root of all evil, and if Yoda was to be believed, PRIDE which leads to ANGER which leads to the dark side of the force (with apologies to serious Star Wars fans for inconsistencies with the original) is as logical and rudimentary as 1 + 1 = 2. Admittedly, even we were consumed by the dark side due to extreme anger and hurt at the terribly inconsiderate act.

So our lives go on, hopefully without anymore contact with person aka persona-non-grata.