A Peeve of Mine

One of my peeves is pet peeves. I am not saying that my pet peeve is peeves. What's the difference? Am I playing word games? Yes, I am, but there's a point to it.

Peeves are common and, sometimes, appropriate. Peeves can help us to avoid unpleasant situations. They can provide us with the motivation to make needed changes.

You should know, however, that peeves make lousy pets. A little peeve can be a pathetic, helpless looking thing. It is natural to take pity on a little peeve, to wonder why the world hasn't paid more attention to it. Some people have a habit of taking these little peeves in. They feed them, groom them, lavish them with attention, and even start to show them off to their friends.

This is a slippery slope. Let me warn you, if you must have a pet, consider a puppy. They're not as destructive and they make less of a mess.

Walk into a pet store and what do you see? All sorts of fuzzy little creatures strategically placed to tug at your heartstrings. A pet store may occasionally sell unusual animals like snakes, lizards or spiders, but you will never see a pet store selling peeves. They know that the the customer will invariably be dissatisfied. There's to much of a tendency for the customer to come back and try to return it. If there's one thing a merchant doesn't like, it's a customer trying to unload a peeve.

It's easy to grow attached to your little peeves, but please remember that it's sometimes difficult for others to see them the way you do. Use caution when displaying your peeves, you may occasionally run across another connoisseur with similar tastes, but most people will just wonder why you ever gave shelter to such a scraggly creature.

Thank you for listening. It's something I had to get off my chest. I know I offered unsolicited advice, but I think it's an important topic, don't you? I do feel a little better now. Yes, I was correct in saying these things! This is something the world needs to know about! I shared this information with you, but it doesn't seem like that's enough. Oh, I see the postman outside. I think I'll tell him all about it. I'm sure he will be grateful.