Channeling Andy Rooney

I needed to take a little time away from politics and government (to make sure that my head doesn't explode) and decided to write about a couple of other things that make me nuts - other than genetics. It makes me feel like Andy Rooney from 60 Minutes ("Did you ever wonder...?") or my grandfather ("When I was that age..."), but I'm more than half a century old, I figure I've earned it. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks about this stuff, and I'm sure there are other topics that drive others of you over the edge. Please feel free to vent in the comments section, but remember to be civil and polite and try to use good grammar (pet peeve #1).

So...here we go! The other night at the reorganization meeting, as the oath of office was being administered to Mr. Minniti, with his children at his side (weren't they too cute!), a cell phone rang in the row in front of me. It happens to all of us occasionally - we get embarrassed and immediately turn off the phone and hide under our chair, and then try to remember to turn off the ringer the next time. But that didn't happen Monday night. It took what seemed like forever for this woman to find her phone and instead of turning it off, she answered it! And proceeded to talk to the person who had called! I was stunned, and couldn't believe that an adult didn't have the common courtesy or common sense to handle the situation correctly.

Kids!!! I love them to bits or I wouldn't teach, but some of them are ridiculous! High school kids who have to be driven to school, don't know how to say "excuse me", use language that can make me blush, in class! Even worse than the general attitude of disrespect that some of them have is the sense of entitlement that is the defining characteristic of quite a few of them. They think that they should get a better grade just because they show up, they shouldn't have homework because it cuts into their free time, we shouldn't give them quizzes and tests because they lost or didn't take notes (and didn't do the homework).

I'm guessing that these are the same kids who are hanging out at our parks at all hours, since parental intervention would make a difference in the kids' behavior both in and out of school. Here comes my first grandad bit - my son suffered through my mistakes, the curse of the first born child. He would play after school, and then tell me he didn't have any homework - so I would root through his bookbag, find his assignments & try to make him do the work. I wasn't always successful & went to quite a few teacher conferences. I took no chances with my daughter - she had to empty her bookbag onto the table the second she got home, & do her homework before doing anything else. She stayed in her school clothes & away from the TV until she was done- she won the study skills award at CMS, got all A's, graduated 3rd in her class at BCIT (environmental science major), went on to the dean's list every semester in college, & became an environmental educator currently finishing her master's degree in experiential education. Her final project at Minnesota State is writing the outdoor education curriculum for the province of Alberta! I'm a little proud.

Just plain manners seem to have disappeared, not just with kids, but with everyone. Say thank you to someone who holds a door & they seem surprised to hear it. Offer to help someone reach an item off a high shelf, or carry a bag to their car & they look like you're about to mug them. Wave someone ahead of you at an intersection & they don't know how to react. Just a couple of words - please, thank you, after you, etc.- can make all the difference in a person's day. And help to prevent ...

Road rage and stupidity behind the wheel of a car! I won't even go into the dopes who talk on their phones, or text, or play with their radios, or don't obey speed limits in residential areas, or tailgate, or weave in and out of traffic, or don't know how to drive through a traffic circle (sorry, "roundabout" - are they ridiculous or what?) - The absolute worst people on the roads are those who don't get out of the way of emergency vehicles! And then they get that angry look on their face, upset that they were expected to move for someone else's emergency. Seriously? Someone's health or safety is on the line, and you're put out because you had to pull to the side of the road for a couple of seconds!

I just wish everyone would just try to think of someone besides themselves occasionally, and behave the way you did when you were at your grandparents' house for Sunday dinner. It isn't difficult, and would make the world a much nicer place!