77 And Still Behind The 8-Ball

The life and times of a WWII refugee Vol 2: settling in Australia and late in life, still battling many local wars.
Having overcome many battles but succumbed to a few, the main battle of life continues. It’s neither easy or hard, it’s life but bearing one thing in mind.
As an old philosopher friend once counselled Andrew: “Never let the bastards get you down and never lose your sense of humour.”
These words offered by a former Four Square Grocery Store proprietor, Jack Ford, stuck in Andrew’s mind and became his mantra as he persued his life.
A matricidal, thieving sister did much to test this theory but it held well. Andrew found out it was better to lose one black-sheep sister than to lose his dignity and sense of humour.
Almost everyone operating his own business will have run into an officious, nasty Public Servant. Andrew can claim more than his fair share of power-drunk humanoids and Herr Flick (of the Gestapo) was no exception.
Then there are those of the Medical Fraternity, who hide behind their medical degrees as they bury their mistakes, aided by a powerful Union and a weak-kneed Public Service Authority, not to mention shoddy businessmen who know that if they duck and dive for long enough, you will tire of the game and go back into your kennel quietly. From dealing with these humanoids, Andrew coined another mantra:
“If someone does the wrong thing by you,’ bitch’ about it and keep on’ bitching’. In many instances, it pays to ‘bitch’ which is better than being trampled on but if you are not prepared to ‘bitch’ then don’t complain if life sucks.”