“She went on and on and on, cranking out the tsuris until all the bigger, badder dinosaurs had vanished.”

Now, in truth, the TyrantoCrankaTsuris was always the quiet one.  But, as they always say “It’s the quiet ones that you have to watch out for.”

It is a fact that some people just don’t like to complain.  Don’t trust them!!  I’ll tell you a story.  At work, I had a former colleague.  I’ll call him Vic.  Every morning, I would see him in the coffee room, and I would ask “Vic, how are you doing?”

“I can’t complain.”  he would always reply.  What kind of answer is that?  First of all, I was asking how he was doing.  I did not ask whether or not he had the ability to complain.  Imagine if I asked Vic how he was doing and he said “I can’t swim.”  There is no difference in the two non-answers.

And, this is the same guy on Friday mornings, when he would see me in the same coffee room, he would say to me, “Steve, if I don’t see you, you should have a good weekend!”

Now, we worked in the same department, and I was not going anywhere.  I was going to be there for another seven hours.  Of course, Vic would see me.  Does that mean I should have a really lousy weekend?

Ok.  I digressed a bit.  Some people just do not like to complain.  But, think about why they do not like to complain.   “I don’t want to seem like a complainer!”  Or they say…”What’s the point!  I can complain, but it will not change anything!”

One reason you will never ever hear is “I do not complain because there is absolutely nothing to complain about.  Everything is just perfect.  I am completely satisfied with absolutely everything.  Ok.  There is one thing.  I am underworked and over appreciated, but that’s it.  No other complaints!!!!”

So, we all have our complaints.  Now, imagine if we chose not to voice our complaints.  Let us presume that the reason is that it will not change anything.  You know what will then happen?  Nothing will ever change because there was never anyone to complain about the way it was.  If there is nobody to complain, we must all be living in a perfect world.

But, we need change.  Things are not perfect.  Complaining is showing bravery.  It creates change.  I will tell you a short story that brings it full circle.  When I was young, and I was really hoping for something to happen, like get admitted to my first choice in applying to college, my father would tell me, “Don’t get your hopes up.  That way, you will not be disappointed.”

My father said many wise things that fathers always says, but I did not put that line into the category of “wise fatherly sayings”.  So what, if I am disappointed?  I worked hard.  I think I deserve what I am hoping for.  If I do not get it, I will be disappointed.  That is ok.  I will not be crushed by it, but I will feed off of it to work harder.

Complaining is not only okay.  It is both important and vital to our existence and even our survival as human beings.  People complain, and they experience disappointment when things do not change.  However, the best of us do not give up.  We keep on fighting.  At some point, the complaints get heard.

But, remember, we do not keep it in and keep it and keep it in, and then let it out and never stop.  Nobody ever hears the TyrantoCrankaTsuris who never stops cranking out the tsuris.

And the story ends:

“So we learned to be careful not to express our inner TyrantoCrankaTsuris or TyrentoKvetchaTsuris too often.  Just the right amount to keep the planet happy and not too cranky.”