Musing Interruptus is a podcast for sharing thoughts and stories and enjoying idiomatic phrases and words. You can read along; the transcription is in the description of this episode. The idiomatic expressions are in italics. Try to get the meaning from the context and then look them up to see if you were right. If you like it, share it, but more importantly, continue the conversation. The music is called Iowana by Blue Dot.
Hello, Welcome. I’m Renée Valentina and this is Musing Interruptus. Today's episode Loved Today, Conned Tomorrow.
A charlatan can give you a run for your money, I mean, if they are any good at what they do. The conartist wannabe is not intelligent enough to run a play to completion. I have a feeling that they are the ones who resort to a stickup. Ultimately, they both rob you blind.
I wonder how many times I’ve been conned. You think you are smart until you get taken to the cleaners and I don’t mean by my clothing. It is embarrassing. Sometimes people get feelings from you, others they get money. What’s that about? Like vampires, except they are people, so, "vampirepeople".  
There was this one guy who told me he was related to Pancho Villa, the Mexican Revolutionary Hero. His ID said “Francisco Villa”. As soon as I saw the last name, I knew he was conning me. Well played with the approach, he certainly caught my attention. It’s a shame for him that Pancho Villa was only a moniker. As far as I know, his real name was José Doroteo Arango Arámbula. That being said, I'm not that intelligent. 
My IQ is that of the kind of person who ends up buying stuff at a tourist trap. Not once, not twice. IQ dumb-dumb. It’s alright. I’ve made my peace with it. I’d rather be honest with myself and say, my IQ sure makes God smile. If I had to guess, I was part of the placebo group. I know I smile a lot. It’s alright.  I think I was just conned into being politically incorrect by my alter ego. It was an inside job. Get it?
The bottom line is that I’m smart enough to know how smart I am and where I fit in the grand scheme of things.
In some situations, easy prey. That's why I try to be careful, and keep a low profile. It is a jungle out there. I know that if the right intellect comes along, I’m a goner. We all need to know our limits and be about our wits to either avoid or realize we are being played. Even if you aren’t that smart, the truth find a way of coming out in the end. I don’t think there is an eternal con. I might be wrong. This certainly wouldn’t be the first time. Most times people want to trick you out of your money, either because you give it to them or because you are persuaded to do things. Other times it is your attention and feelings. I think I prefer being conned for my money. 
I like movies about cons. I like how we, as the audience, are confident we know what the plan is, we even have the timing down, and some of us even hold our breaths at key moments. We are convinced that we wouldn’t have been duped by such a transparent scheme. That is how it is written. But once we see the execution, we learn we were kept in the dark about a key aspect of the job. Plot twist! All of a sudden we realize we could have been conned as well. Some writers have the gal to show you a recap of the elements that were in plain sight that you missed. In the movies it is great. When it happens in real life, it is simply indignant and you might even feel ashamed because you weren’t smart enough to see the signs. It is not so easy to keep your composure. Continue Reading

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