Even tolerant, kindhearted souls finally realize there is a point beyond which advantage of them should not be taken. Good for them.

DRAWING A LINE IN THE DIRT

Sometimes you’ve just got to draw a line in the dirt. Tolerance of bad behavior should only go so far. Like Sam, who, when asked to judge a Texas chili cook-off, disqualified a contestant from Milwaukee whose recipe called for noodles. “You’ve got to make a stand,” he said. “Goulash is good but it’s not chili.”

Jerry is a kindhearted musician. He often receives invitations to come and perform, many from friends who say, “We can’t pay you anything, but it will be good for your career.” One day, Jerry realized, Wait a minute . . . this is my career! He drew a line and doubled his income.

There are many hardworking parents who send their kids to college. Their children profess interest in meaningful fields of study like marine biology (tern cleaner), world peace coordination, or compassionate preschool psychotherapy. Tuition increases, bills mount, majors change, yet graduation remains a distant star.

Till finally one day, the twenty-five-year-old student finds he has been volunteered for the UN Peacekeeping Force stationed in Two Dot, Montana. A diploma is not required.

Then there were the two cowboys who threw paint on the protesters in front of the fur store.

Or the team of masked raiders who washed Don Imus’s, Howard Stern’s, and Chris Rock’s mouths out with soap.

Or the patient folklorist who responded to the question “I write cowboy poetry; can I tell you one?” by saying, “No, thank you. If you do I will fill your hat full of mashed potatoes and pull it down over your head so far, french fries will be coming out your . . . ears!”

How ’bout folks that sit down next to you, whip out their cell phone, dial, and say, “I’m at the airport,” and you can hear the caller on the other end say, “So what?” You can just be thankful they’re not calling you, or you could whip out a bottle of rudeness repellent and douse them down.

I was at the rodeo recently and saw a lady take matters into her own hands. She was sitting behind a cowboy wearing a big hat. She tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Young man, I cannot see around yer hat. Would you mind removing it.” He explained how it was improper for a cowboy to remove his hat at a rodeo except for the national anthem.

But she had made her point, so I just traded places with her.