Schadenfreude

Most of us have heard this term, at least in passing, but to refresh…  Schadenfreude is generally taken to mean deriving joy from another’s misfortune, or other’s taking joy in yours.  It’s seen a few headlines since the turn of the new century/millenium and been the basis of a few TV episodes, as well, most notably with James Spader’s character Alan Shore on ABC’s series Boston Legal.

This is generally one of those human attributes which are frowned upon and, when possible, ignored altogether.  I rather enjoy the word, and it’s very human pretext, though I try not to overly indulge in it.  This week, however, I did.  I know it’s only Wednesday evening, but it’s been a lousy week.  I haven’t felt well (sinus troubles), my fitful nights have been even less restful than usual (hard to believe it’s possible, but it is), and work has been … trying. 

To elaborate, on Monday we received hundreds of loose lathes on our delivery truck.  They are rough-sawn, rectangular lengths of wood between three and four-and-a-half feet long.  And being rough-sawn, think of them as giant splinters in wait of a hand.  My hand, as it turns out.  I got the singular privilege of unloading them, sorting them, counting them, and bundling them as needed, mostly by tens and dozens.  It’s taken the better part of two days and my hands are a mess (can’t use gloves, they double the handling time and make bundling impossible).  Then on Tuesday, the truck driver pulls a good one and almost dumps an entire pallet of goods right off the liftgate of the truck.  I grabbed one side and pulled my ass off, barely managing to keep the entire thing from tipping off (while he acted like nothing was wrong … “huh?  what are you doing?”).  But my knee got in the way of the liftgate (black and blue) and my back and shoulder are severly pissed at me.

But back to schadenfreude, today I got to take pleasure in someone else’s bad fortune.  (And, really, they deserved it anyway.)  The downtown area near where I work is fairly old with narrow streets and limited parking.  To visit one of the small shops along main street, you have to park a couple blocks away or right on the street (if you’re quick enough to snag a space).  But main street is also part of the truck route so you have to be careful abut how you park.  Well, as I traversed the street I noticed, with great joy, that a large Cadillac Escalade barely out of my lane had sacrificed a mirror to its owner’s stupidity and/or ineptness.  Either way, I laughed like a madman as I drove by the monstrous vehicle and it’s mirror -  casing broken, glass spiderwebbed with splits, hanging by a few wires … quite a sad affair.  A small thing, to be sure, hardly even a hiccup for the owner (if you can afford an Escalade, what’s a mirror?).  But for me…  Schadenfreude at it’s finest.  It made my week.

Next time, park off the road, dumbass.  Or don’t … I’ll enjoy seeing the aftermath of a tractor trailer sliding down your doors and quarter-panels even more.