On a day-to-day basis, there are plenty of things we can find annoying. Traffic is a good place to start.
Have you ever wondered what all those people you see talking on their cell phones while driving were doing ten or twelve years ago? The ubiquitous cell phone was still a few years in the future back in 1994-95. People somehow managed to go from point A to point B without the need to talk on a phone. They even went shopping without keeping up a running dialog with friends and family. So does the availability of such technology produce the need? Apparently so. Hurray for the new law that permits
talking on the cell phone only when using a hands-free device.
Another great rant are people who run red lights. And I’m not just talking about the folks who blow through the red signal while going straight through the intersection. That’s bad enough, but the folks who insist on ooching out into the turn bay, (often 10 deep!) and then blowing through the red signal, are present at almost every major intersection. I personally think ALL traffic-lighted intersections should have turn arrows, and they should be labeled “Left Turn On Arrow Only”. Talk about asking to be creamed at an intersection!
In Albuquerque we have a large number of “Red Light” cameras. Many of our citizens are against these cameras. They call it “Big Brother at its worst!” Personally, I have no problem with having the red light enforced with a camera. If your judgment isn’t good enough to know when to stop, and you ENTER the intersection AFTER the light has turned red, then you should be fined. Everyone has been faced with the question of approaching a yellow light and going on through or stopping. The trick is monitoring your speed. If you are not approaching the light at an excessive speed, you have time to make the decision safely.
Have you ever had someone pull out in front of you, into your lane of traffic, and when you glance into your rear view mirror, you see there is no one behind you for blocks? You have to wonder why they couldn’t have waited until you passed. And then there are those folks who can’t decide (or don’t know) where they are going, and they pull across two or three lanes of traffic in front of you to make a turn they should have been planning for a mile back! Yes, there is plenty about traffic and drivers to annoy even the most patient among us. And those who know me know patience is NOT my most prominent personality trait.
And while I’m ranting, how about clerks giving you change, and they want to stack the coins on top of the bills and hand it back to you like a body in a hammock? I tried to ignore that one for years, but I finally lost the battle. Now, I jerk my hand back and ask them (nicely, I think) to please give me the change, then I transfer the change to the other hand, and THEN and only then, are they allowed to give me the bills. What’s that you say? I’m being curmudgeonly? You say that like it’s a BAD thing! As my daughter, The Widdle Bitty Kid says, “Get OVER yourself!”
I’ll have more for you another day. This is such a ripe field I can’t resist!