The meaning of "no"

Today in HermanVille the weather is angry and the rain is torrential, coming down like sharpened points of fury. I think folks around here are upset because people are having problems with the word no. It seems so damn simple too: No! It's a small word that puts things to an ending, a finality. There is no maybe in the word no. It's sure. It walks straight. It looks you in the eye. It doesn't mess around. It says everything it needs to say in one syllable and two letters. It packs a punch. So why do so many people have problems using it? It's a big problem here in town.  Even after you hold someone's proverbial hand and give them permission to say no they still say maybe when what they really want to do is say is no. Many folks around here instead of saying no, they do something worse. They don't say anything at all. There is no no, no maybe, just silence. (This is especially true when I try to get the trolls to do something).And what you are left with is this limbo pergatory kind of thing. You can't move forwards or backwards. This feeling is confining, imprisoning and downright just plain annoying. You ask someone, can you do this thing. It could be anything, just something. They say OK. Now this is promising. They said OK. So you leave the interchange on a positive note because, well, they said OK. So now a week goes by and you wonder, well if they said OK, let's reconfirm this thing. So you pick up the phone, the troll on the other line, and you ask them,, "well since you said OK for this thing, let's confirm it". Well, now the troll says, "I'm going to have to get back to you because I'm not really sure. I might have a conflict with your thing and be doing something else." Well "Ok" says you because what else can you say. You are in shock at the audacity of their fear of commitment and wishy washy attitude. So now we have already wasted an entire week when at this point, you kind of get the idea that the initial OK really meant NO. But the troll for whatever reason, did not have the garden gnome balls to say no. Now the first thought here is why can't these creatures have the premonition to say no for crying out loud? Here in HermanVille, we haven't quite figured that out. I'd like to think that every one's different and not everyone is going to say no., but perhaps you should trust your gut. It seems to have more of a clue than you do. So does the silence mean no? Does the lack of any kind of answer or response mean no? Are they that afraid of being "mean"? Well here's a clue: You wind up looking like an ass and being mean when you don't say no in the first place.
I've got to get this out to the people of my town that at the end of the day it's not the fact that you said no, it's how you say it and if it's done right both parties will have a happier stress free life.
Until next time.