Tag: writing

Yes, I know.  We tell people over and over, and yet . . . . they still don’t get it.  They think they’re just a bit smarter than the experts.  They have an edge when it comes to background and knowledge.  Like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and vaccines.  Sometimes, you can tell people and tell people, and they just don’t understand. The other night on the news, there was a video clip of a small child falling out of a moving car on a busy street.  How does that happen?  No car seat?  Seatbelts are optional?  Here’s a brief compendium of advice that, really, we shouldn’t have to enumerate, but we do.

Travelling abroad.  You are an American, and you’re hoping to travel abroad.  To answer your question, yes, the State Department issues warnings for places that Americans more than likely won’t be received hospitably.  Like Russia, even if you’re a women’s basketball player.  We don’t care how much you’re being paid to play there, if we have to have a prisoner exchange to get you back, you really should have stayed home.  Or you’re visiting the Korean peninsula and you make the thought-provoking choice to sneak across the border into the North.  A few years ago, there was a news item about a trio of American young men that liked climbing mountains.  They made the unfortunate choice to scale some slopes on the border of Iran.  Even more unfortunate was their capture by Iranian security forces.  Should we really have to have our dedicated folks in the State Department spending their time and energy trying to extract Americans from places where they should not have been in the first place?  Where common sense would tell us . .? Isn’t there a little voice in their head that says, GAZA – Don’t Go There?   And yet . . . . .

Medications and Medical Care.   I’m often amused by the commercial warning:  “Tell your doctor about all the medications you’re taking.”  Are people self-prescribing medications about which they know little?  Are people watching medication commercials and thinking, “I might have that.  I think I’ll try . . . .”   And yet, some must be doing that, and hence, the disclaimer.  Now, it may just be me, but I tend to rely on my doctor’s advice when it comes to my conditions and treatments.  I tell him what’s wrong, he does some testing, and then he recommends what I need to take.  A representative from a health care provider will call to advise me to get “regular check-ups”.  Or even better, they’re going to send me a packet of papers to fill out.  No, thank you. I check with my doctor every six months, or sooner if something untoward pops up.  Sadly, with cuts to health care premium subsidies, perhaps there will be many, millions in fact, that may not be able to do this.  And, while we’re on the subject, a round of applause and a shout out to all those folks who decided not to vaccinate themselves and their children.  The recent spikes in flu, measles and other cases of highly contagious diseases are directly attributable to your “dark web” sources and the power of misinformation.  Well done!

On the Road in Bad Weather.  Can someone tell me why, when the news crew is interviewing people driving snowplows, there are numerous drivers on the road, generally getting in the way?  There have been warnings from television anchors, meteorologists, civic leaders, all the way down to the casual observer like me looking out the window, telling these folks to stay home.  And yet. . . . . We had a doozy recently – almost two feet of snow and, before the crews had had a chance to clean out and clean up, my neighbors, who are delightful people and both in retirement, were out and about. We get regular messages from our property manager reminding folks to move their cars so that snow removal on roadways and driveways can be done.  And yet again, . . . . .  we see snow-covered cars in driveways while their owners complain on Facebook that their driveway was late being cleared. We see on the nightly news, pictures of highways in the Midwest, the Northeast, even lately in the South, where cars are off the road and into a ditch.  Large pileups.  Folks that figured driving their usual excessive speeds might be too much, so they cut it back to 60 mph on snow-covered highways in blinding white-out conditions.  Very sensible, people.  If you’d just stayed off the road, your car wouldn’t be headed to a crusher and your insurance company considering you an added risk.  

Please, Please, Please Take Down your Christmas Decorations. I was driving home from a medical appointment the other day, and as I drove through a largely residential area, there it was.  Waving to me.  I gigantic inflatable Santa.  My faithful readers know how I feel about outdoor inflatable decorations anyway. Yes, there should be 5,000% tariffs on them, along with severe fines for displaying them.  These are the visual equivalents of “disturbing the peace”.  I will concede that it’s nice to enjoy the holiday season, which now begins on Columbus Day weekend and completely overshadows Thanksgiving.  In the near future, every turkey will come with a red bow and sprig of holly.  For any of us sensible people, those of us displaying a wreath or two, perhaps a tasteful swag on the door, the joy of Christmas has run its course by the time we’re watching the Tournament of Roses Parade.  And the light displays too.  What’s with that waste of electricity?  At any number of houses I see, they are too lazy to take down the lights before and after, so you see strings of lights dangling from the rafters year-round.  Now, it seems, they’re even too lazy to turn them off.  So, I don’t want to hear anyone complaining about the high cost of energy.  If we shut off all the Christmas lights in March, we’d cut electric consumption in half. There’s a tradition in our house – if the tree and other festive trappings of the holiday aren’t down and packed away on New Year’s Day, somebody please call 911 because we’re probably dead.  

Dress Warmly in Winter.  Should we really have to say this?  At the grocery store the other day, a woman had her small child in a cart going across the parking lot to her car.  The child – maybe 18 months to 2 years, was in a t-shirt.  No hat, no mittens, no boots, just socks.  I gave her my look of stern disapproval, just short of my “band director” look, but beyond that, I couldn’t do much.  As my father used to say, “what she lacked in intelligence, she more than made up for in stupidity.”  For the record, might I suggest, and again, this goes without saying, shorts and t-shirts won’t keep you warm in a New England winter.  Snow and sneakers don’t really work well together, and sandals even less so.  

Every so often, we’ll read reports of someone that had to be rescued from a wilderness area, a mountain, or some other remote location.  They were hiking, and not prepared for the blizzard that was coming their way, that had been predicted for days.  So, while I shouldn’t have to tell people this, Mount Washington gets just a bit chilly, sometimes a little blustery, and gets the odd bit of snow and ice this time of year.  And there are so many other things we shouldn’t have to tell people.  If you’re getting older, have had three hip replacements and still live in your three-story house, it probably won’t end well for you.  If you’re feeling lousy, have a persistent cough and runny nose, don’t go out and share that joy with others.  Stay home and use a delivery service.  If you didn’t save any of your tax receipts or other documents, don’t expect the IRS to be sympathetic and understanding.  And finally, if you walk around with a constant frown or scowl on your face, don’t complain on social media about how unfriendly people have become. 

Warmest regards (and dress warmly) on a chilly day!