Like most people I go through the week alternately being proud to be a member of the human race and/or shaking my head over how thoughtless, rude, illogical, and selfish many people can be. I adhere to the philosophy that most people are “doing the best they can, where they are, with what they have”. I try to do the same. It’s a version of “when I knew better, I did better”. Well, some people must not know better or they are “ignoring what they know and just going with the flow…” So here are some of my random questions for the week. If you know the answers, please, please tell me!!
If a person really loves their dog, why do they drive with it on their lap? First of all it’s a distraction and encumbrance that makes you a terrible driver and endangers them, you, me, and everyone else on the road. Second, in an accident you are either going to crush the poor dog with your body or the air bag will kill it. That’s love?
If pajamas are sold in the sleepwear department, why do so many people wear them in public? Tired of seeing them at WalMart, at school, at the drugstore, at….
If we want our children to be healthy and we are supposedly having some national movement against obesity, then why do we still take children to McDonald’s? And while I’m asking, has anyone ever READ THE LABEL on those cute little pre-packaged kids’ lunches???? When, where, and why did we get the idea that junk food= kid food? It seems cruel to get them addicted to all the fattening, salty, and sugar-laden food we can find, and then in a few short years start telling them it’s bad for them and worry about their weight!
Just because you own twenty-five pieces of jewelry, does that mean you must wear them all at the same time? And does it mean you have to pierce a body part for each one? This one scares me, because I don’t think there is a “stopping point” for some people. Won’t their bodies collapse if they reach 100 holes and hoops?
If I see you every day of the week, and I say “Good Morning”, wouldn’t you at some point do the same thing? And if you are ignoring me in front of your child, aren’t you just passing rudeness on to the next generation? Politeness does not obligate you to like me!
When did we start letting children disrupt, disturb, and even dominate adult conversation? My generation was taught that if our parent was talking to another adult, we were to wait politely until we were acknowledged or dismissed. I’m not saying we always did it, but if I had interrupted a conversation between my mother and my teacher, I would not have been allowed to continue.
What purpose is served by cutting the crust off of a child’s bread? I am literally dumbfounded by this wasteful practice. I have never seen bread with a crust so hard that a child was incapable of eating it. It IS part of the bread. I haven’t seen anyone take the “brown part” off of a dinner roll. Someone explain this to me. My mother would be appalled!
Why do we have so many children who can NOT tie their shoes? Are you honestly telling me that a child who has the manual dexterity to play a video game, drive a four-wheeler, shoot a gun, play t-ball, and operate their own television/DVD player isn’t capable of tying a shoe?
Why does everyone suddenly have the need to talk 24/7? I never go anywhere anymore- including public restrooms- without overhearing a conversation or watching someone text or play on their phone. I suppose at some time in the future everyone will just be implanted with a chip of some sort that will allow them to talk to anyone at any time and the crowd at WalMart will just look like a swarm of people talking to themselves…wait, it already does!
How can we constantly ask our children to “follow the rules” if we don’t obey traffic laws or drive the speed limit? They aren’t stupid! They know when you are driving crazy fast or when you sneak past a stop sign or drive without your seat belt or double-park. I know, because they TELL me! We have class discussions about traffic safety and I always have at least one student who says “my dad doesn’t like to wear his seatbelt” or “my mom is always in a hurry so she drives really fast”.
So…food for thought.
My mind works in mysterious ways and I’m part of the older generation.
BTW, on that subject, I believe 90% of all television ads will soon be for medicine, “assisted living” services, and “handy devices”. The BIG generation is beginning to retire!
Have a great day! And if you see me, I’ll say “Good Morning”. Please do the same.
P.S. I have to add another question. Why won't Typepad allow me to keep the numbers I had on these questions AND insert photos?? It renumbered my list AND changed the spacing each time I put in a photo, so I just took the numbers off.
I have a few more questions:
* Why do cashiers now end the transaction with "Here you go" instead of "Thank you for shopping here"?
*Why don't children play outside anymore? Fast food once in a while wouldn't produce obese children if they were outside, running and jumping.
*When did soda pop replace fruit juice and milk in children's diets?
I do have one answer for you: children stopped learning how to tie shoes when the laces were replaced with Velcro. I remember when my dad taught me to tie my shoes -- only took one lesson -- and I was the only one, besides the teacher, who knew how to tie shoes in my kindergarten class. I can remember telling my son, when teaching him to tie his shoes, that it would be very embarrassing for him, if he didn't learn how to do it, to have to come to my house to have me tie his shoes when he was 35 years old...
People do not seem to discipline their children anymore, especially in public. Fear of prosecution for child abuse may be a factor. Somehow children have become the bosses -- especially since children have been instructed to report even the smallest swat on the rear by their parents. I'm totally against child abuse, but you can tell that I'm not against corporal punishment, especially if it is to get a child's attention when their safety is threatened by something much worse, such as climbing the display cases in the store or running into the street without looking both ways for approaching traffic.
And no one has taught any manners to most children I see in public. My grandchildren are in college and pretty well-mannered except that their table manners are terrible, a direct result from eating in front of the television every night at home. They live in another state, so I have no chance to remedy that situation -- maybe their girlfriends will work miracles there! We can only hope!
Posted by: Classof65 | April 08, 2011 at 07:18 PM
I see we are from the same generation. :) I'm glad you mentioned climbing displays- that happened once when my children were young. Another child did that and knocked a shelf onto my son's head! Thankfully he was okay...and got a free pair of shoes from the manager.
Posted by: Mary | April 09, 2011 at 05:18 AM
great list of to do's and to don'ts. Thanks for the reminder.
Posted by: Megan | April 10, 2011 at 03:55 PM