Navel Gazing

yeah well...
it has come to my attention that few are truly who they appear to be. it is also true that deception is the rule, not the exception. while we can quibble over the severity of the deception, perhaps even the intent, the end result is the same. that is to say that people lie to your face and take advantage more often than not.
this far too often includes some you may have considered quite near and dear.
i have been blessed with a good circle of individuals that i include in the friend category. one has recently taken advantage of that to quite a severe degree. it truly shakes my faith in people in general. i guess you may have garnered that from my thesis statement.
SYMPTOMS: a large sum of monies owed. a large amount of promises unkept. deception. avoidance. (extremely) petty larceny. tales of woe (is me). blame others while continuing to take. general inconsideration of others. not being very clean (and not caring about it). hidden agenda. resentment.
wow. i guess i am pissed. this is flowing like the niagra.
there is a bit of bile here but if you know of the film "a bronx tale," perhaps you can guess where this particular episode is leading.
i have been far too laissez faire about this. i thought, in error, that there would be a moment of satori and "doing the right thing" would enter the equation. that notion of propriety has yet to rear its head in this case. when it come to decency, you either are or you are not.
so in the interim, i have decided not to wait and move forward with my plans (which i'll detail in a future blathering). much to do. not a lot of time.
the questions that now remain are: Which is the offending limb? What do i give away? Which do i leave behind? How much do i let on? Who should know?
Pretty ponderous, no?
As i collect and count the proverbial lint, i ask you, is it true that it all don't mean shit to a tree?