I had a great uncle that was a crooked old SOB. He had cheated just about everybody who had ever done business with him, and along the way had amassed a lot of land. His kids wouldn't go against him because they were afraid they'd be kicked out of his will. Several years before his death, he and I had a falling out over a piece of farm equipment, that he priced to me for one price, then tried to double it when I went to pay for it. That was last straw for me, as there had been other instances as well. Anyway, when he died, the family asked me to be a pallbearer. I wanted badly to tell them just what I thought, but I took the high road, and am glad I did. I was nice, acted as though I cared about their loss, and remained friends with them. Behind the scenes, I considered his passing to be about damn time the old goat left this world and ceased screwing people. Of course, I kept those thoughts to myself, which is probably the best thing one should do, all things being considered.
