Being On Time Isn't Optional

One of my biggest pet peeves is people who are chronically late. I’m not talking about the occasional running behind that happens to all of us, I’m talking about people that are always, without fail, 15-20 minutes late everywhere they go.  Many years ago, I was friends with a group of people who met up for brunch every Sunday.  Invariably, one friend was always late.  Not a few minutes late.  We’re talking at least 30 minutes late, if not more.  Everyone else would be there, but we couldn’t be seated until our entire party had arrived. So we would sit there in the lobby, twiddling our thumbs until she rushed in.  Eventually, we started telling her we were meeting 30 minutes before we really were. When she found out, she got mad at us.  Really?  You’re late all the time, but you’re mad at us because we don’t want to wait?  Know what else irks me?  Arriving for a doctor’s appointment and not being seen until much, much later.  I get that sometimes emergencies happen and that some patients take longer than others.  My problem is with doctors who consistently run over an hour late or longer.  Someone I know was scheduled for out patient surgery.  They were instructed to take pain medication an hour before their appointment.  Unfortunately the doctor, who had never managed to see them on time any other time, was running late yet again and didn’t actually see them until an hour and a half after they were scheduled.  The pain medication had worn off and the doctor had the audacity to berate my friend for taking it too early!  Seriously?!  With insurance rates sky high and out of pocket expenses expensive, there’s no excuse for that kind of behavior.  Talk about arrogance!  Ever work with someone who was late to work every day?  Meetings can’t start on time, projects are late, the phones aren’t turned on, the doors aren’t unlocked.  Other people in the department have to cover for them because they can’t get their stuff done on time.  These people are always so surprised when they get bad reviews or don’t get a raise.  It never occurs to them that everyone else manages to get to work on time so they should too.  People!  Every job you ever have is going to want you to come to work when you’re scheduled.  It’s a standard requirement.  People behaving badly. 

People Start Pollution

Remember this guy?  When I was growing up, this ad campaign was a big deal.  It got our attention and pointed out that littering was destroying the natural beauty of America.  For my generation, littering became taboo.  So what's happened?  You can look around and see trash everywhere.  Take a look in empty parking lots before businesses open and you'll see where people have cleaned out their cars and left piles of garbage right there on the pavement.  Fast food bags, cups, bottles, cans, and even dirty diapers.  More often than not, there is a trash can within walking distance, but apparently, that's too haaaaaaarrrrdddd.  Seriously?  You really think it's ok to just dump your crap out on the ground?  Years ago I visited Yellowstone National Park with my sister.  We saw the Morning Glory Pool which is a hot spring where a certain type of bacteria grow giving the water a beautiful blue color.  Over the years, so much debris has been thrown into the pool some of the natural vents have been blocked and the color has slowly faded.  In 1966, the pool was a periwinkle color.  Today, it's a pale aqua.  There is a large sign, titled Faded Glory, that explains how this hurts the spring, yet every year, the Park Service removes hundreds of rocks, coins, and other debris (trash) that tourists throw in.  My sister and I witnessed a family letting their kids throw pennies in and making wishes.  Apparently, they didn't think the sign applied to them and weren't very appreciative when we pointed it out.  Maybe they should have been wishing for some smarts since it was obvious they didn't have any.  The city I live in has an annual Ethnic Festival where 65 countries have booths featuring native food and merchandise along with a stage where dancers and musicians perform from all over the world.  There are trash cans every 10 feet and at every booth and those cans are emptied regularly.  Yet, at the end of the festival, when everyone has gone, the ground is covered in garbage.  Empty water bottles (and some that are completely full), programs, paper plates, napkins, empty beer cups, plastic bags, dirty diapers, broken sunglasses, shoes (seriously, shoes?!), paper fans, and all kinds of other flotsam and jetsam are strewn from one end of the park to the other.  I was completely stunned the first time I saw it.  With so many trash cans provided, how do people justify just dropping garbage where they're standing?  Do you really live this way?  The one that really bugs me are cigarette butts.  Look at the ground at any intersection or at any drive through. There will be hundreds of cigarette butts lying there.  I was driving home one afternoon on a beautiful spring day with my windows down and the woman in the car in front of me tossed out her cigarette.  It came through my window and hit me in the face.  Just what I wanted:  to be hit in the face by a nasty smelling butt that was on fire and had been in a stranger's mouth.  At the next intersection, I got out of my car and gave it back to her.  Granted, she was horrified that it had hit me, but why do smokers think the world is their ashtray?  Cigarette butts don't break down.  All this trash that people so cavalierly toss on the ground can end up in storm drains which empty into streams and lakes.  It can attract feral animals.  Wildlife can ingest it or get caught up in it.  It looks and smells horrible.  So why do people still do this?  People start pollution, people can stop it.  People behaving badly.

The Express Lane Means Express

Since everyone likes to eat, most of us make regular trips to the grocery store.  Heck, a lot of grocery stores have whole sections devoted to salad bars and hot meals, so you don't even have to cook to eat.  Plus they carry everything else from wine to motor oil to birthday cakes so there's something for everyone.  It really shouldn't be a surprise to me that people behave poorly while they're shopping, but somehow, it always is.  What is it with people who park their cart in the center of the aisle, blocking traffic, while they read labels or rifle through their coupons to find the one for whatever product they're standing in front of?  Other people with carts end up backed up on both sides of them while they continuously stand there, oblivious to the world around them.  They're always so surprised when they finally notice or someone says "excuse me."  Seriously?  You're so unaware of your surroundings that you don't notice 5 other people within 6 feet of you?  I also can't stand the people who put something in their cart and then change their mind about it somewhere else in the store so they just put the item on whatever shelf is closest.  Hey, that's right, the bread shelf is exactly where that can of Raid should go. Don't worry about poisoning any of the rest of us. How difficult is it to walk yourself back to the right location and put it away?  Apparently pretty difficult.  From what I've seen, on a scale of 1 to 10, it's impossible.  I absolutely cannot stand to get behind the people who want to carry on a long conversation with the cashier at checkout.  I don't mean the people who are friendly and chat while their purchase is being scanned.  That's actually a nice thing to do.  I mean the people who have known the cashier since she was 4 and want to catch up on every detail of her (or her family's) life since the last time they saw her.  It's always during a busy time when every line is backed up with full carts three and four deep and this bozo wants to know who the girl is dating and how her mother's hysterectomy went.  You can't make a phone call to catch up?  You have to do it right this very minute while the rest of us are glaring daggers at you and you don't see that the poor cashier is trying to be polite but clearly wants you to move on?  Really?  What is wrong with the people who see a sign for something on sale and pick up the item right next to it?  They then pitch a hissy fit at checkout because the cashier rang it up "wrong."  No, you're just a moron and either can't read or you're trying to pull a fast one.  If brand X is on sale, that doesn't mean brand Z is because it's on the same shelf.  And then there are the people who want to take 40 items through the express lane because they're all the same.  I'm sorry (ok, no I'm not), 40 cans of tuna doesn't count as 1 item!  Who do you think you're kidding?   How about people who can't put their cart in the cart corral in the parking lot when they've finished with it?  They just leave it sitting there where it rolls into other people's cars and takes up parking spaces.  You'd think that the corral is located all the way on the other side of the lot, at least 200 yards away, instead of conveniently located every 10 spaces.  How lazy are you to be unable to drive an empty shopping cart 20 feet and put it in the corral?  People behaving badly.

Limes Are For People Who Order Margaritas

There are a few things that people do when dining out that completely flummox me.  Things that make no sense to me what so ever.  Of course, I'm aware that they probably make perfect sense to the people who do them, but their reasoning escapes me.  For instance, people who insist on being seated in a booth when they're shown to a table.  Now, if you have small children, I get why you want a booth.  You want to trap them between you and the wall to prevent them from escaping your clutches and running around like monkeys on acid.  I get that, really I do, and I thank you for it!  What I don't understand is someone without small children who militantly demands a booth in a closed section instead of the perfectly nice table available.  We're not even talking about the people who want the dirty booth instead of the clean table that's ready to be seated, standing in the aisle, waiting for someone to bus the booth and clean it, disrupting the flow of seating and lurking over the people already sitting at tables around them.  Seriously?  It makes that much difference in how much you enjoy your meal?  I also don't get the people who demand a lime with their water or soft drink instead of a lemon.  Limes are more expensive, generally kept at the bar where the server has to ask for them, and taste no different than the more easily accessible lemon.  Requesting a lime slows down your service, since every time you get a refill, the server has to make another trip to the bar.  That's part of their job you say?  Of course it is, but they can serve you more efficiently if you don't make silly requests that don't make any difference in taste.  A lime in your water doesn't make you look more sophisticated either, it makes you look pretentious.  Then there are the people who want their toddler to order his own meal.  The server is forced to stand there and wait while Mommy keeps saying "Tell her what you want, go on, tell her, tell her what you want, you can do it, say it, tell her what you want, tell her, use your words, you can say it, tell her," while said toddler is hiding his face or trying to get under the table or coloring or anything except telling the server what he wants.  Newsflash: restaurants are busy places and servers really don't have time to camp out while you try to get junior to use his words.  That server has other tables that also need her attention and if they don't get it, she'll lose money.  What about the people who don't unroll their silver from the napkin?  Instead, they just pull the utensils out of the roll and ask for extra napkins, and that's if they use the utensils at all.  I've seen this with both cloth napkins as well as paper ones.  People are animals.  Guess what?  We give you the silver and the napkin in one tidy little package for your convenience.  If you don't use it, we can't reuse it on the next table.  (Would you really want that anyway?  Ewww!)  We have to unroll it, wash the silver, and throw away a perfectly good napkin that you were too lazy to unroll, after we had to give you another one.  Napkins (like limes) cost money to restaurants and when customers use (or demand and then not use) more and more, the restaurant will eventually pass that cost on to you.  I also don't understand the people who want to pay their modest ticket with a $100 bill.  Most servers carry a "bank" to make change that usually consists of about $20.  The restaurant doesn't provide this.  If you come in to eat early in the shift and want to pay your $25 ticket with a $100, chances are the server can't break it and has to get change from the bartender or the manager.  If either one of them are busy, this could take some time, holding up not only you, but also all the other tables in that server's section.  Since you almost always have to ask for $100's from the bank and ATMs generally don't give them, the people who do this are doing it intentionally.  I don't get it.  It doesn't make you look wealthy.  It's a pain for everyone involved and most of the time, you get change that consists of $1's and $5's.  That fits in your wallet really well, right?  What about people who walk in talking on their cell phone and continue to talk on it all the way to the table?  Seriously?  You can't finish your conversation in the car?  How about the people who don't read the menu?  Instead, they want to ask me three hundred and one questions involving the possible three thousand and one ingredients the restaurant has.  "Do you have this?"  Believe it or not, the menus are tools created just for you, the customer!  It has all the information you'd like to know! The best one ever was the woman who came in one day who left her reading glasses in the car and demanded to use my prescription glasses that I was wearing!  I wish I was making this up. They aren't reading glasses and they aren't for perfect strangers to use!  Who does this?!   People behaving badly.

Planes, Trains and Other Such

Traveling equals vacation, adventure, relaxation, and good times right?  I wish.  Don't get me wrong, I love to visit other places and experience different cultures.  I love trying new food, meeting new people, and seeing the wonders of somewhere that are completely different from home.  It's the process of getting there that's become unbearable and it's not the transportation industry's fault, it's my fellow travelers.  Post 9-11, air travel has become more regimented with security requirements firmly in place.  There are acceptable forms of ID, body scanners, baggage limits, and long lines.  There have always been boarding procedures.  None of it is a surprise and detailed instructions can be found with a minimum amount of research.  Yet, without fail, someone always shows up at the airport without ID, with a giant oversize bag that must be checked, or without enough time to get through security to make their flight.  And without fail, they make a huge scene and hold up the process for everyone else.  Trust me, no one else wants to listen to you rant about a situation that you've created yourself.  Planes are tight spaces with people packed inside like sardines.  Why do some women feel it necessary to bathe in perfume?  What smells lovely to you smells old lady or cheap hooker to other people.  Not the sexy impression you were trying to give I'll bet.  Some people are extra sensitive to scent as well.  Perfumes cause migraines for some people, nausea for others, and no one wants to be next to someone whose scent is so strong they can taste it.  How about you just smell clean?  There's also limited storage space on planes.  I was recently on a flight where a couple had used the overhead bins for two tiny fanny packs that would have easily fit under the seat in front of them.  They also didn't want to stack them so other people could use the overhead space.  Really?  How selfish and self centered are you that you can't share?  If it's small enough to slide under the seat, put it there.  This same flight had a woman who had a giant backpack, a purse, a tote bag, and two shopping bags that she tried carrying on.  I guess she thought that the one carry on per person rule didn't apply to her.  Getting her extras checked held the boarding process up and standing in a line pressed up against the people in front of me for 7 minutes was exactly what I wanted to do right then.  Another thing I don't want to deal with (and neither does anyone else) is your kids fighting, shouting, crying, or kicking the back of my seat.  Yes, I know they're just kids, I know they're bored, I know they're excited, I know they're tired.  So is everyone else.  You brought them on the plane, it's your job to handle them.  Let them know ahead of time what kind of behavior is expected, bring stuff to keep them occupied, and pay attention to what they're doing.  I realize that kids will be kids, I just want you, as the parent, to step in when they get out of hand.  If they (or you) aren't mature enough to travel, maybe you should think twice about subjecting them to it.  My favorite type of traveler is the Ugly American and I've seen plenty of them.  They're the people who think everything should be just like it is at home.  They complain, while visiting other countries, that the seats are too small at the airports, there aren't free refills on beverages, there aren't bacon and eggs for breakfast, the Holiday Inn at Disney had better accommodations because it had a pool, no one has Bud Light, cars are too small, and (gasp!) people in other countries don't speak English!  You can almost always tell they're American because they're wearing tennis shoes and baseball caps, no matter where they are, and somehow believe that if they just speak louder, then the person they're talking to will miraculously understand English.  I find myself wondering why in the world did they decide to visit?  People behaving badly.

Parenting Is Not For Wimps

What is it with parents who don't want to be parents?  I don't mean people who never wanted kids and had an oopsie, I mean people who have kids and don't want to deal with the responsibility of raising them.  People who are so caught up in their own self interest that their kids get the short end of the stick.  Yesterday I had a woman and her little boy sit in my section.  She was on her phone when she came in and didn't hang up for 10 minutes.  At first, I thought it was an important call and didn't want to interrupt, but it soon became apparent that she was just gabbing with a friend while her kid sat there bored to death, fidgeting.  Finally, I was able to get an order when she did hang up.  Instead of engaging her child, she pulled out her ipad and played with that until they left.  As they were leaving, she was back on her phone.  Really?  You can't talk to your kid for just 20 minutes?  Once, I was shopping at a large store and there was a pack of unattended kids racing around shrieking and throwing things at each other.  After getting hit, I told them to knock it off.  The oldest little girl informed me she didn't have to do what I said because I wasn't her Mother.  Turns out, they were all siblings and Mom and Dad were shopping for themselves and left the kids to their own devices, where they terrorized everyone else.  Had that been me as a child, there would have been an unfortunate incident in the bathroom. (Or maybe the car, where equally unfortunate incidents occurred.)  Mom and Dad, when confronted about the antics of their offspring, seemed amazed that other people didn't let their kids run around like monkeys on crack and that none of us wanted to be pelted with their crap.  "But, they're just having fun" they kept saying.  Yeah, and horseback riding is fun for me but I don't do it in a store.  Last week, I watched a Dad and three little (and I mean little) boys come in for lunch.  Dad was so busy watching sports on his phone, he couldn't get the baby in his highchair, or watch him so everything from silverware to crayons to the salt shaker to drinks were thrown in the floor.  (Such a delight for the table next to them.)  When the oldest one had to go to the bathroom, he left the baby and the 3 year old at the table by themselves!  Of course, the baby started screaming.  Another server and I sat with them until Dad came back, amazed that a baby and a toddler couldn't be left alone for 10 minutes.  Seriously?!  This guy couldn't even tear himself away from ESPN long enough to help the server with passing out food to his kids.  (Guess where the baby's ended up?)  Buddy, you helped make them, it's your job to take care of them.  I found myself wondering how this guy got up in the morning, got dressed and made it to work without his wife's help. He probably didn't. People behaving badly.

Sports, the New Religion?

Sports are our nation's national pastime.  We sign our kids up for organized sports to teach them important things like sportsmanship, respect, hard work, being part of a team, and winning and losing gracefully.  For the most part, the kids get it.  The adults, well, not so much.  I've begun to think that too many people view sports, on all levels - high school, college, and professional, as a religion.  As I've mentioned before, I live on the border of two states.  Each one has a major state university with a massive sports program.  The rivalry between the two schools is unbelievable.  I've lived in several different states and even in a different country, but I've never seen a rivalry like this.  Grown adults make some very nasty comments in all seriousness.  One school is derided for being attended by mentally deficient hicks who have incestuous relationships with their siblings while the other is looked down on for being populated by drug cartel gangsters.  I've seen countless discussion groups seriously debating these "facts."  Ironically, both schools have named their teams after guerrilla terrorist groups from the Civil War.  Nice huh?  During the various seasons, you would think the fate of the world lay in the balance depending on which team was going to win by the way some of those adults behave.  Most of them didn't even attend either school!  One of my sisters in law is a professor at a small college.  She has a masters degree in theater and teaches drama.  Several years ago, she had a couple of boys with athletic scholarships take her class.  One showed up for class on the first day and on the day of the final where he signed his name to the test and turned it in blank. The other came to class, sat in the back and slept the entire period.  Both of them failed the class. (Duh!)  This caused a major ruckus on campus.  The boys' coach stormed into her office and demanded to know "just what in the hell she thought she was doing" since a failing grade benched those players.  She explained what they had done in her class to earn their grades and the coach informed her she couldn't fail his players because of how much money the sports program brought into the school.  It came out that the boys took her class because they thought it would be an easy class where they wouldn't have to do any work.  When my sister in law refused to change their grades, the college changed their records to indicate the boys had never been in her class.  This is a small college.  I can only imagine what it's like in bigger universities.  Then there is the whole "football is war" philosophy.  Bear Bryant, Kellen Winslow II, Sam Huff, Vince Lombardi and many, many others have used that analogy over the years.  Really?  Football is war?!  How does getting paid exorbitant sums of money to PLAY A GAME in front of thousands of fans dressed in team colors with pretty girls waving pom poms and cheering them on compare to a unit of infantry soldiers wearing body armor, carrying assault weapons, patrolling a combat zone where people are actively trying to kill them?  All while they're far away from home and family.  There is no comparison and it is incredibly arrogant to suggest it.  The incident that makes me the angriest is the Penn State scandal.  A grown man was caught in the act of having sex with a little boy in the locker room shower.  The 28 year old witness asked his daddy for advice instead of contacting the authorities.  Daddy told him to tell Joe Paterno.  Instead of contacting the authorities, Joe told the athletic director.  Same thing happened all the way up the chain of command to the University President.  Not one of them stepped up and did the right thing by reporting Jerry Sandusky to the authorities.  Instead, they took away his keys. Why?  Because the football program at Penn State, like many other universities, is a huge business, generating a massive amount of revenue for the school.  Protecting the bottom line became the focus instead of protecting children.  When the scandal broke and Joe Paterno was fired, the students rioted and Penn State fans were outraged.  How dare they fire Joe-Pa?  No one seemed to give a damn about Sandusky's victims.  They were too busy worshiping at the alter of the football program.  And that's what created the environment that allowed Jerry Sandusky to molest little boys in the first place.  A pseudo religion is what these sports have become.  Pseudo means false, fake, phony, mock, contrived.  Be careful that you don't worship false gods.  People behaving badly.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

We are right smack dab in the middle of the Holiday Season for 2011.  Houses are decorated, gifts are wrapped, and plans with friends and family are being made to spend time together.  Why is it then, that so many people get hung up on being offended?  I've seen several emails and links about how Christmas traditions and the holiday itself were "stolen" from the pagans and that they'd "like their holiday back" or that mainstream folks have no business celebrating with holly, trees, mistletoe, caroling, or any number of other traditions, especially since they don't know the significance of those things.  Really?  First of all, pagan can be many things.  At its heart, it's someone who doesn't follow the religious beliefs of the main world religions.  Some people who identify with paganism don't follow any religious beliefs at all while others are very religious in their interpretation.  Not all religious pagans worship the same gods.  So, who exactly "wants their religion back?"  Did the Christian Priests absorb the traditions of native peoples into their holiday?  You bet they did.  The new gods took the place of the old ones many times in many cultures and this is no exception.  But, there are more of us than you might think who do know exactly where our traditions come from and celebrate them with gusto.  I've also seen a cynical message that states that the holidays are horrible because by encouraging people to be kind at this time of year, it makes it OK to treat others wretchedly the rest of the year.  You've got to be kidding me.  I don't think even Evel Knieval could make that jump!  Who thinks like this?  But my favorite are the people who rant, rave, and shake with suppressed (and not so suppressed) rage against the "Happy Holidays" greeting.  I've heard someone say that the only appropriate greeting for December 25 is "Merry Christmas" and I've heard others say that using "Happy Holidays" is un-American.  I've received invites to boycott stores that have signs that say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" and I've been forced to listen to people rail against the "pc bullshit" that's being forced down their throats and denying their children their rightful heritage.  Seriously?  A store with a sign that says "Happy Holidays" is denying your kids their rightful heritage?  What planet are you on?  First of all, the word holiday comes from holy day, first used in the 12th century to describe a day free from work in recognition of a holy celebration.  Secondly, there are many holidays being celebrated this time of year.  Remember the song The 12 Days of Christmas?  Those 12 days (Christmastide) run from December 25 to January 5 and during that time is St. Stephen's Day (Boxing Day) and Childermas (Feast of the Innocents) which are celebrated in varying ways around the world. Not to mention New Years which we celebrate lavishly in this country.  Let's not forget the big three - Christmas (December 25), Hanukkah (December 20-28 this year. So much for "Merry Christmas" being the only appropriate greeting.) and Kwanza (December 26-January 1).  Acknowledging all of them does not take away from any of them.  I say "Happy Holidays" because I celebrate multiple holidays during this time of year and I don't always know which holiday other people celebrate.  Whatever greeting someone is kind enough to offer me during this season of celebration, I smile and wish them the same.  How hard is it to focus on the best things this season has to offer like celebration of family, culture, and community, freedom to worship as we choose or not to worship at all if that's our choice, being generous to those who aren't as fortunate as we are, and hope for the coming new year?  People behaving badly. 

I'm no Pollyanna, but I'm no Negative Nelly either

We all have bad days.  The kind of days where you wish you could just go back to bed and pull the covers over your head and get a do over.  (I had one of those days yesterday!  If it could go wrong, it did!)  Most of the time, those days are few and far between.  Why is it then that so many people like to wallow around in negativity?  I know several people who have decent jobs that like to gripe and complain continuously about how horrible it is to work at XYZ Corporation while so many others, who are willing to work, can't find a job at all.  Doesn't matter what they get paid, it's never enough. Doesn't matter who they work with, they're all jerks.  Doesn't matter who the client is, they're all idiots.  Doesn't matter what the schedule is, it's never good enough.  Really?  Ever stop to think maybe the problem isn't your job, it's you?  Same goes for those  women and men who complain endlessly about their relationships (or lack of) with the opposite sex.  All they can talk about is how everyone is a deadbeat or a user or selfish or shallow or just doesn't understand them.  Hmm.  Ever think that maybe if you weren't so bitter and judgmental all the time, you might attract a better type of partner or keep the one you have?  Just a thought.  Family; some days you'd kill for them, some days you just want to kill them.  I understand, really, I do.  I have some issues of my own and then some, but eventually you have to stop blaming your childhood for the direction your life is taking as an adult.  You do have choices. I'm not talking about people who were abused as children. (I am so not qualified to give anyone my opinion on that subject!)  I am talking about the rest of us that maybe had or still have a crummy relationship with family.  Guess what?  There are a lot of us!  You don't have a monopoly on that!  How long are you going to drag around that baggage? Or should I say let it drag you around?  And then there are the people who continuously deride anything and anyone they don't agree with.  Their mantra is "Accept me the way I am!" and they will complain bitterly and loudly if everyone doesn't do just that.  Problem is, they aren't willing to do that with everyone else.  Someone else's political views are different?  They're uninformed and ignorant!  Someone else's religious views are different?  They're narrow minded and ignorant!  Someone's decision to have kids is different?  They're selfish and ignorant!  Someone's sexual orientation is different?  They're not open minded and ignorant!  Funny thing is all these examples work regardless of which side of the argument you're on!   You don't have to agree with other people's opinions, but you also don't have to attack them at every opportunity either.  I like to think of people like this as Energy Vampires because their constant negativity just sucks the life right out of everyone who's around them.  No one wants to be around people who drag them down.  People behaving badly. 

No Service In Customer Service

Everyone has a horror story or two about receiving abysmal customer service somewhere.  Kids that don't have a clue what customer service is and really don't care, companies that locate their call centers in other countries, I could go on and on.  However, there are some places where customer service is so bad, it takes on epic proportions.  The DMV comes to mind.  Since everyone has to register their vehicles, we all end up there sooner or later.  There are specific requirements to getting your vehicle registered and these requirements are posted at the DMV itself as well as on their website.  Invariably some poor soul will show up, stand in line for an hour (since no one's in a hurry who works there) only to discover, once he reaches the window, that he's forgotten one of those required pieces.  It's his own fault that he didn't bring everything, but since there's no sense of urgency by any of the employees, a huge chunk of his time has been lost.  Once, while I was in line I saw this happen.  The man didn't get angry, he just sighed and left.  Instead of moving to the next person in line, the clerk came out from behind the counter with a highlighter and began highlighting the poster that listed what was needed, all the while loudly berating the "stupid people" who forgot and wasted her time.  I guess making us wait longer while she colored, didn't count.  Another place with wretched customer service is the Court House.  The County Clerk's Office in particular.  Once I went in to pay my property taxes in person since they had lost my check. (That's a whole other story!) At 2:30 in the afternoon, they were having a baby shower for one of the girls who worked in the office.  When I finally got a clerk to come up and help me, she acted as if I, and the other people in line, were a huge interruption of her day.  She actually complained that she wasn't getting to see the Mom-to-be open her gifts.  Really?  And my tax dollars are paying your salary?  The one that takes the cake is a local hospital in my area.  The back story is I live in a city that straddles two states.  My cell phone number is the same as a pediatric doctor, who deals with very, very sick kids, except for the area code.  I'm in one state, he's in another.  I get lots of calls from parents who are trying desperately to get in touch with their child's doctor.  I always call them back and direct them to the right place.  Not long ago, I saw that I had gotten a call from a number I didn't recognize and the message was garbled but I understood enough to know it was about a sick kid.  I called the number and got the operator for this particular hospital that will remain nameless.  I explained why I was calling and the woman interrupted me to say she couldn't help me.  I again tried to explain and she again interrupted, this time demanding to know if I was a patient.  When I said no and finally got to explain why I was calling, she very brusquely told me that there was no way to know who had called me since it was a hospital with many phone locations.  Basically her attitude was that she couldn't help me and didn't care.  I managed to keep my cool, thanked her and said I hoped the people who had called were eventually able to figure it out.  She said "Whatever" and hung up on me.  I sent a nasty letter to the hospital that afternoon.  You can't help me?  OK, I can deal with that, but there's absolutely no reason to be rude about it. Would it kill you to pretend to care? People behaving badly.

The Land Of Plenty (Plenty Wasteful)

The United States is a very rich country.  We have an abundance of resources and food that many other countries don't have.  In many cultures around the world, being overweight is a sign of prosperity because the majority of people in those countries are so poor they are never able to get enough food to be overweight.  Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio created a book called "Hungry Planet" that is a photographic study of 30 families from 24 countries.  One of the most insightful things about this book are the portraits of each family surrounded by a week's worth of the food they consume.  You can see a small sample of these portraits at "What the World Eats, Part 1" found at http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626519,00.html. You should go there now.  It will open your eyes.  In our country, obesity is a national epidemic.  We come up with specialized diets that cut out entire food groups so we can lose weight.  We go to the gym where we walk, bike, and climb to nowhere to burn off the excess calories we consume.  Our grocery stores are packed with huge varieties of food that have to be shipped in from far off places so we can have "fresh" produce at any time of the year.  And yet, Americans THROW AWAY 27% of the food they buy.  An average family of four will THROW AWAY almost 122 pounds of food in a month.  In 1997, the Department of Agriculture estimated that Americans wasted 96.4 billion pounds of the 356 billion pounds of edible food.  That was the last year there was a study done on food waste.   Due to the state of the economy, donations to food pantries are down 9% but people showing up at food pantries for help has risen 20%.  In 2008, the Department of Agriculture reported that 1 out of every 21 American households were "Very Food Insecure."  That means that, at times during the year, the food intake of household members was reduced and their normal eating patterns were disrupted because the household lacked money and other resources for food. This means that people were hungry, "the uneasy or painful sensation caused by want of food."  I work part time in the food service industry and the amount of food that ends up in the garbage can is criminal.  My place of employment offers bottomless fries with most of our entrees.  I cannot tell you how often people will demand more fries and eat just 2 or 3.  The rest go into the trash.  The other day a family came in and the teenaged boy wanted fries as an appetizer.  He ate 2 baskets before his meal came out.  He ended up eating about a quarter of his meal and didn't want a to go box for the remainder because he "doesn't eat leftovers."  It also amazes me when parents let their little kids drink 2 or 3 kid cups of soda before their meal.  Kid cups are 12 ounces, the same size as a full can of soda.  Then, when their meal comes out, the kids take 1 or 2 bites and are done.  Guess where the rest of their meal goes?  You guessed it, the trash.  And these are the people that complain the loudest over the menu's prices.  Guess what?  It's not so expensive if you actually eat what you order!  A friend of mine lives near our city's biggest Farmer's Market.  A few days ago he posted a picture on Facebook of a dumpster full of produce that had been thrown away.  People won't buy produce that isn't "perfect" and they can't give it away once it's very, very ripe.  Into the trash it goes.  Drive through my neighborhood on trash day and see the food that gets thrown away.  How many hungry people could we feed on the food that we so carelessly and thoughtlessly discard?  I hear people complain all the time about the economy and the price of groceries.  People who do not know what hunger is.  Here's a thought: How about you stop throwing 27% of your food budget into the garbage.  People behaving badly.

A Flag T-Shirt Isn't Patriotism

Having just come off a three day weekend celebrating our nation's Independence with cookouts, picnics, trips to the lake, festivals and fireworks, I've once again been made aware of a few annoying habits people have when it comes to "patriotic" holidays.  I see them on Veterans Day, Memorial Day and Independence Day. These annoying habits reduce true patriotism to phony, jingoist, flag waving without any substance.  First of all, I am horrified that so many people don't have any idea what these holidays are really about.  Independence Day is the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence where 56 men basically put on paper that they were committing treason against England.  (Punishment for treason was death.)  By doing so, they put in motion a series of bloody events that made us a free country, free to govern ourselves.  Veterans Day started as Armistice Day, celebrating the end of World War I, and is now a day honoring all veterans of all wars.  Memorial Day is a day to remember and honor all soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice and gave their lives in war.  Flying the American Flag on your car on one of these holidays does not make you patriotic.  It's the same as flying the flag of your favorite sports team on your car on game day.  Patriotism is much more than that.  I also can't stand the people who see these holidays as simply a three day weekend where they can go to the lake or throw a big BBQ where the kids run around with super soakers and the adults look at it as an excuse to get drunk and fire off bottle rockets.  Really?  People gave their lives, both soldiers and civilians, so we have the right to elect our government instead of having a monarchy and all its trappings forced on us by hereditary succession.  We live in peace, so we're able to pretty much do whatever we want to do without worrying about showing our papers at checkpoints.  How hard is it to take a moment and remember why these are holidays?  How hard is it to teach this to your kids?  I also can't stand the people who use these holidays as an excuse to push their political agenda.  For instance, I kept seeing posts on fb about The Pledge of Allegiance with the line "My generation grew up reciting this every morning in school with my hand on my HEART. They no longer do it for fear of offending someone! Let's see how many AMERICANS will re-post this and not care about offending someone."  Here are some facts about the Pledge of Allegiance.  It was written in 1892, by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister and Christian Socialist.  (Look that one up!)  It's original form was "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."  In 1923, "my flag" became "to the flag of the United States of America" to avoid confusion for immigrants between their birth countries and the United States.  In 1940, the Supreme Court ruled that public school students (mainly Jehovah's Witnesses who see a flag salute to be idolatry) who did not wish to recite the pledge could be forced to.  Against their will.  A wave of intimidation and violence against Jehovah's Witnesses followed.  (Do we really want to go in that direction again?)  Then in 1943, the Supreme Court reversed their ruling stating "that public school students are not required to say the Pledge, concluding that "compulsory unification of opinion" violates the First Amendment." In a later opinion, the Court held that students are also not required to stand for the Pledge.  It wasn't until 1954 that the words "under God" were added on the basis that Abraham Lincoln used the words "that the nation shall, under God, have a new birth of freedom" in his Gettysburg address.  Most people who rant and rave about how the tradition of the Pledge of Allegiance is being trampled on, don't have the first clue about its history.  And, it has NOTHING to do with Independence Day, Memorial Day or Veterans Day.  It doesn't matter who is in the White House or which party has majority in congress, we're ALL Americans and we all should respect and honor our National Holidays instead of just "celebrating" them.  People behaving badly.

Cell Phone Misuse

Cell phones.  We all have them and they make life a thousand times easier.  Need to call home because you're running late?  Need to check your bank balance?  Need to make a doctor's appointment before they close?  No problem!  Cell phones make it possible.  I remember when we didn't have cell phones and to make any calls away from work or home you had to stop at a pay phone.  Of course, that was back when every gas station, mall and restaurant actually had pay phones.  You had to dig out a dime. (Because there was no such thing as dollar thingys that spit your bill back at you if it was wrinkled.)  When the cost went up to a quarter, people were outraged!  Ah, the good old days.  Now, we can make a call wherever we are.  Sometimes that's not a good thing.  Once I was in line waiting to board a plane and the woman in front of me was having a long conversation with someone who apparently was located at our destination.  Everyone around her was treated to the details of her hotel (which smelled funny), the exorbitant price of her latte, and how she needed to get her brows done.  When the conversation turned to where she and the mystery caller should go for dinner that night, the man in front of her turned around and asked if she needed any recommendations from the rest of us.  Apparently she didn't realize that she was holding everyone else hostage to her conversation.  Ever notice those signs at some coffee shops that state they won't wait on you if you're talking on your cell phone?  I always tip them extra because there are few things worse than being stuck in line behind someone who is trying to order a specialty coffee drink using the Mime Method.  Really?  You can't be bothered to put your call on hold long enough to order and instead resort to hand signals, eye rolls and exaggerated silent lip movements?  And you expect the barrista to get it right?  I work with a lot of high school and college kids in my part time second job and, almost without exception, every single one of them is constantly on their phone.  Sending texts, receiving texts, checking Facebook, playing games, etc.  Did I mention we work for the public?  Half the time they aren't even aware of what they're doing and they don't seem to grasp the concept that our customers CAN SEE THEM!  They're always so puzzled when one of those customers gets upset about the crappy customer service they're giving because instead of taking care of the customer, they're on their phone!  It's not an age thing you twits!  It's a customer service thing!  I hate people who find it necessary to be on their phones during presentations, at church or anytime someone else is speaking.  It's just plain rude.  Were you raised by wolves?  What really annoys me are the people who "drive" and use their cell phone.  Notice I put the word drive in quotation marks?  That's because when you're on your phone yapping or, God forbid, texting, you are incapable of driving!  Today, for instance, I was on my daily commute and for 5 miles there were signs stating that the right lane over an upcoming bridge was closed.  Everyone got over except for one bozo who was too busy jabbering on his phone to pay attention to the signs.  He just about caused an accident when he suddenly realized his lane was ending in 15 feet and veered over, cutting off a semi.  (Those things don't stop on a dime you know.)  Once I watched a teenage girl swerve all over the road, back and forth into oncoming traffic.  When I was finally able to get around her, I saw she was busy texting instead of busy driving.  I hope, for her parent's sake, that she's stopped doing that because if she doesn't manage to kill herself, she's going to kill someone else.  No conversation is worth dying for.  People behaving badly.

Driver's Ed Isn't On The Curriculum

So many people believe driving is a right instead of the privilege it really is.  They get behind the wheel of their vehicle and suddenly they are King of the Road.  (In their own minds at any rate.)  They have no thought for the other drivers who are sharing the road with them and do completely stupid and dangerous things.  I live in a small town that has narrow turning lanes on the main thoroughfare.  They are narrower than the driving lanes, but they are still plenty wide enough for even the widest vehicle.  It amazes me how many people can't be bothered to pull completely into the turn lane, leaving the rear end of their vehicle hanging out in traffic.  If they're afraid that they're going to be hit by oncoming traffic, they're completely oblivious to the fact that the traffic behind them is about to ram up their rear.  Or that they've stopped traffic behind them while everyone else has to wait for them to make their turn.  What about the people who don't turn on their headlights when it's pouring the rain?  If you have to turn on your windshield wipers, you need to turn on your lights.  It has nothing to do with whether you can see, it's all about making sure other drivers can see you!  Especially if you drive a white, grey, beige or silver vehicle.  (That would be the majority of us!)  It's also the law.  I drive 45 minutes to work every day and most of my commute is on the interstate.  It drives me crazy that some people drive continuously in the left lane.  I've heard Troopers say that this is the biggest cause of interstate accidents after drunk driving.  If people are passing you on the right, get over!  I don't care if you think everyone else is driving too fast or you have your cruise control set, the left lane is the passing lane.  That means you use it to pass slower traffic, not to take a Sunday drive.  Another peeve is people who can't make a left turn correctly.  Instead of squaring off and turning into their lane of the side street, they cut across the whole mouth of the road.  I can't tell you how many times I've almost been hit while I've been waiting to turn right.  And the offenders usually look at me like I have no business being on my side of the road!  If it's so hard to turn left with the power steering we have in cars today, I'd hate to see how these people would fare in the cars I grew up in.  You actually had to steer those boats!  The one that really annoys me is people who don't use turn signals.  I'll be driving along behind someone and suddenly, with no warning, they'll slam on their brakes before they make a turn.  Using your turn signal lets everyone else know what you're about to do.  It's helpful on the interstate as well.  If you have your turn signal on, I get the idea that you want to move over and I will let you!  They come standard on all vehicles and are pretty idiot proof to use.  It doesn't matter if you're pulling into your neighborhood, your kids are fighting or you're yapping on your phone, use them!  It also doesn't count if you signal while you're making the turn.  That's just being lazy.  People driving badly.

Beyond Discourteous

Courtesy and manners were a big deal when I was growing up.  In school, at church and at home we were taught to say please and thank you, yes ma'am/sir no ma'am/sir,  open doors for women and the elderly, take off our hats inside, offer to carry heavy things for our elders, take our muddy shoes off outside and to never sit on a made bed among many other little things that made life easier for those around us.  It was hard work learning everything and sometimes we struggled, but in the end, most of us turned out well mannered, courteous adults.  Boy, those days are well and truly gone.  Self esteem has become the big deal.  We now have a generation of young adults that have no understanding of courtesy because instead of learning manners and how to behave, their self esteem was fostered and catered to.  They have an inflated sense of self worth and self importance that borders on the ridiculous and no awareness or empathy for those around them.  I used to manage the cafe at a large bookstore where we sold pastries, sandwiches and made coffee drinks among other things.  One day, while filling an order, one of my employees cut his hand very badly with a knife.  Blood was everywhere, running down his arm and pooling in the floor.  He and I were the only two there at the time so of course we stopped everything and applied pressure to the wound before sending him to the hospital to get stitches.  (He ended up getting 16.)  The "gentleman" whose order we were making, demanded that we finish making his smoothie and do first aid later.  He then had the audacity to ask if he could get it for free since he had been inconvenienced by having to wait.  My sister is on crutches right now because she has a broken foot.  The other day as she was walking (hobbling) into a restaurant, the couple in front of her let the door slam on her. Both the outer door and the inner one.  Seriously, how can you be so unaware of your surroundings that you drop a door on a handicapped person twice?!  At another location, she was standing on one foot, getting her crutches out of the back seat of the car when a guy whipped into the parking place next to her and banged her with his door when he got out.  He never made eye contact or apologized, even when he realized she was on crutches.  Nope, he just kept on going.  My husband works as a customer service rep for a company that makes GPS units.  Yesterday our area had severe storms with several tornadoes.  Many buildings were evacuated, storm sirens were shrieking and the National Weather Service was broadcasting instructions for seeking shelter immediately.  His department had to tell the people on their calls that they had a tornado approaching and were being evacuated to the basement.  Many of his co-workers actually had people get pissy at them and demand that they fix their problem before they evacuated.  Really?  You think updating your mapping is more important than someone's life?  How self-centered are you? People behaving badly. 

Kids In Grown-up Places

I love being a grown-up.  I love being able to do what I want to when I want to, within reason of course.  I can go where I want to go, eat what I want to eat and go to bed when I want to go to bed.  (We won't talk about the fact that I'm usually unconscious by 10:00!)  Because I'm a grown-up, some of the places I like to go are grown-up places, meaning places meant for grown-ups.  Why is it then that I see so many kids at these places?  The gym comes to mind.  Too often I'll see a little kid running through, climbing on equipment or playing in the water fountain while Mom or Dad is working out, oblivious to their child's antics.  Not only is it annoying for other people working out, it's also dangerous.  Exercise machines and weights aren't toys. A big guy curling 120 pound dumbbells in each hand is going to drop them on the mat next to him without thinking there's a child underfoot.  The kid could be injured, but so could the guy if he tries to "catch" the weights.  Some gyms have a daycare, but if yours doesn't, hire a sitter.  I like to go to some really nice restaurants.  The kinds that have a good wine list, multiple forks, table cloths, a humidor and daily specials created by a chef and recited by the server when they greet my table.  I am stunned whenever I see someone with a kid in one of these places.  I once had the pleasure of listening to a woman at a nearby table complain endlessly that there were no crayons for her child and she just couldn't believe they didn't have chicken tenders on the menu.  Her poor kid looked bored to death and picked at his meal.  Really?  With all the places out there that cater to families with balloons, colorful kid menus, playgrounds and game rooms, why in the world would you drag your child to a place that very obviously isn't kid friendly?  Parties are also a good example of grown-up events that shouldn't have kids in attendance.  For any smart alecs out there, I am not talking about kid's birthday parties, Easter egg hunts, family picnics or the like.  I'm talking about grown-up parties with kegs, dancing, card playing, smoking, wine and/or scotch tasting and maybe a stripper or two.  The invitation will always say "no kids."  Invariably, someone will show up at one of these events with a child in tow and act totally amazed that there aren't any other kids there!  What are they thinking?  Perhaps my biggest inappropriate kid place peeve is the movies.  Again, I'm not talking about Shrek or Kung Fu Panda.  I'm talking about adult movies with adult themes and adult language.  Several years ago  my husband and I went to a first run movie.  The theater was completely full.  In walk a man and his wife carrying an infant and a little boy.  This movie was full of scary creatures and quite a bit of violence in the form of war.  The little boy was terrified (and is probably still in therapy) while the infant screamed the entire 2 1/2 hours.  No one in the theater enjoyed the movie thanks to the thoughtless and selfish people that just had to bring their children.  I realize that many parents work long hours and want to spend as much quality time with their kids as possible, but dragging them to grown-up places and events isn't quality time by any means.  Kids like kid things and kid places. It's the ultimate in selfishness when an adult who has kids doesn't want to change their life in any way and forces their kids along for the ride.  People behaving badly.

Man's Best Friend

For many people, pets are as much a part of their family as the human members.  I'm no exception with my two kitties.  At one time, I had two dogs, three cats and two fish tanks.  We were just a big happy furry, waggy, purry, swimmy bunch!  Most of my friends have pets as well and they often get Christmas gifts from my pets and vice versa.  I even have pictures of other people's pets on my phone.  Owning an animal is a major undertaking.  They must be fed regularly, have checkups and shots, their living spaces need to be cleaned, they need to be groomed and some must be exercised long and often.  Why is it then that some people take on owning an animal without doing any planning or research?  A good friend of mine owns a dog that once belonged to a relative.  This relative was out with her kids one day and came across a group of rescue dogs up for adoption.  She decided on the spot to adopt one, bring it home, toss it out into the back yard with a large dog they already owned and feed them out of the same bowl.  She couldn't understand why the older dog became so aggressive and why the new dog spent all its time cowering in the corner.  Duh!   If my friend hadn't taken the dog, it would have ended up back in the shelter because "it just didn't work out."  I also just love the people who decide to get a pet to "teach their kids responsibility."  That's right, take a little kid who's never been responsible for a single thing in his entire life and has no concept of time and only a shaky concept of consequences and put him in charge of feeding, watering, exercising and cleaning up after a living, breathing creature.  At first it will be fun to take care of the new pet, but after a few days, chances are the kid would rather play than be responsible.  At first it won't be such a big deal to remind him, but after a few weeks, chances are the parents will be sick of nagging.  Best case scenario is the parents end up taking care of the animal.  Worst case scenario is the animal goes to the shelter.  You'd be surprised how many shelters hear this story.  Maybe you should teach your kid responsibility and THEN get a pet.  Just a thought.  Then there are the people who decide to own an exotic pet like a boa constrictor without realizing that they can grow to over 10 feet long and live as long as 30 years and require very specific living conditions and food.  When it gets to be too much, they'll just let the snake go figuring it will go back to its natural environment.  Unfortunately, releasing a boa out into the wild is releasing a new species into the ecosystem resulting in havoc on the existing wildlife and that's if the snake survives.  I knew a girl who decided that she wanted to breed a certain type of hunting dog so she bought a male and female with no clue how to go about breeding them.  Her husband was active duty and they got orders to move, so she took the dogs several miles away and dumped them.  Her rationale was "Someone will find them and give them a good home."  Chances of that happening were pretty slim.  I stopped talking to her after that.  My favorite people are the ones who own a pet for many years and then find out that they're pregnant.  Suddenly, the pet must go!  They post flyers and ads saying things like "Sweet, well behaved pet to good home.  After many years of trying, we're finally pregnant!  We just won't have time for a pet and a new baby."  More animals end up in shelters for this reason than you'd imagine.  People who work in shelters and foster animals in their homes are beyond disgusted at this one.  It's as if the pet was a substitute for a baby and now that there's a real baby, the pet can be disposed of like a disposable camera, disposable contacts and disposable diapers.  Certain countries in other parts of the world eat animals we consider pets.  Sometimes I think their ethics are more honest.  At least they're up front about what they do while people here talk a good game, but treat animals with a cavalier and contemptible attitude.  People behaving badly.

If You're Not Ready To Order, Say So

Americans do like to go out to eat.  We love going to a place where not only will they cook your food and bring it to you, but they'll wash the dishes too!  I'm no exception.  It's a real treat to go out to a nice restaurant with my husband, have a glass of wine and catch up on our day while someone else does all the work.  With fewer and fewer people actually knowing how to cook, there are more and more people wanting to eat out and more and more restaurants to accommodate them.  There is almost an entire generation of kids who's normal is eating out.  It seems as if the only time they get a home cooked meal is Thanksgiving and even that's not a sure thing.  Most people who eat out know how to behave in a public environment, but there are others who seem to believe they are European Nobility who must be waited on hand and foot by the minions who serve them.  It's not uncommon to have a server greet a table with a friendly "Hi, how are you tonight?" and have the diner respond with "Diet Coke" in a monotone without even looking up from the menu.  If the server can make an effort to be friendly, why is it so hard for the person at the table to make the same effort?  Just because you had a bad day at work does not make it OK to be rude.  If you need more time to look over the menu and decide what you'd like, say so. Don't keep the server standing there waiting on you.  It's a sure bet that they have refills to get, another table to greet and someone else wanting to pay their bill.  It's self centered to make them  put all their other tables on hold while you pour over every item on the menu because you're afraid they won't be back at the exact moment you're finally ready to order.  It also amazes me that people seem so surprised when they decide to go out to eat on a Friday or Saturday night and the restaurant is on a wait.  Guess what?  Everyone wants to go out on Friday and Saturday night!  Don't be nasty to the 16 year old girl taking names, it's not her fault you decided to come out at the same time everyone else did.  If the restaurant uses those little vibrating pagers, please don't give it to your toddler to hold while you chat with your friends.  If it goes off, your kid thinks his neat toy just got neater, he has no idea your table is ready.  Chances are if you don't respond after a few pages, they'll give your table to the next name.  We all know how that's going to go over, don't we?  The time quoted to you for your wait is not an exact science either.  It's an educated guess based on how many names are on the list and how long previous tables waited.  If you were quoted 20 minutes and it's been 25, don't get huffy.  Being hateful to a 16 year old is petty.  The host can't make people get up and leave who have decided to camp.  No one cares that you have a four year old in your party who's hungry and cranky.  Your lack of planning doesn't make it anyone else's emergency.  You also need to be aware that you need to give up your table to all the other people waiting when you're finished.  Someone close to me forgets what she's ordered by the time our food arrives.  The poor food runner stands there saying "BBQ Chicken Salad?" while she looks around at everyone else.  When we tell her it's hers, she adamantly denies it.  How do you forget what you ordered in the span of 10 minutes?  If you have a coupon, present it when you order.  If there are restrictions, don't get hateful about it.  Those restrictions are usually printed right on the coupon itself, read it!  I once went to brunch with a group of people I didn't know well.  Two of them  were put on the same ticket and asked for separate checks after the fact.  It was an older system that required a lengthy void procedure so the server just divided their ticket by hand.  Each of them paid by credit card and got a separate receipt, but they acted as if they were massively inconvenienced, complaining loudly.  Really?  You were able to pay separately, so what's the problem?  I won't be going anywhere with them again.  Don't tap your fork on your glass to get the server's attention and don't whistle at them.  You're not in a beer commercial and they're not a dog.  If you ask for something say please.  If you receive something say thank you.  We teach little kids to do this, why is it so difficult for so many adults to do it?  People behaving badly.

Yore has nothing to do with you.

The English language is a confusing, constantly changing labyrinth of words.  So many ways to say things!  So many ways to spell things!  So many big, three dollar words! (Some used here!) I am aware that not everyone has the benefit of having had the inimitable($) Nancy Atchley as an English teacher in 7th grade the way I did, but every American has had some sort of basic instruction in their own language.  Most of us had mandatory instruction for 12 years!   Why is it then that people from other countries who learned English as a second language speak it better than some of us do?  I'm not talking about the people who immigrate here not knowing English (more on that in a second), I'm talking about people who live in another country with a completely different Mother tongue who speak and write English flawlessly while "native" speakers here butcher it.  As for immigrants who can't speak English, ever notice how the people who complain the loudest about having to press 1 for English are the ones who can't speak or write it themselves?  Always a problem on resumes and job applications, the advent($) of social networks like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter highlight how many people don't have a grasp on the written language.  Some of my favorites are Heterographs, words that sound alike but have different meanings and different spellings.  They're (they are), their (belongs to them) and there (not here) are frequently interchanged along with to (direction or point), too (also or more) and two (after one, before three) as well as its (possessive form of it) and it's (it is.)  Let's not forget know (knowledge) and no (not yes).  The one that drives me completely up the wall are your (belongs to you), you're (you are) and yore (times long past).  Seriously?  People don't know that yore is a word that's pretty much obsolete unless you're a poet or write medieval($) bodice rippers?  I once took a job application from a young man who left his previous job because he wasn't getting "inuff" hours.  He didn't get any hours at our place either.  Another application stated the applicant wanted to be "traned in magemen."  We decided to pass on him too.  If you're on a diet, you lose weight, not loose it.  Loose is how your clothes fit at the end of your diet.  When your children's fighting gets out of control, it escalates, not escalades.  An Escalade is an obnoxious vehicle manufactured by Cadillac that people my parent's age drive.  And park in two spaces.  There is no such word as alot.  It's either a misspelling of allot (assign, set aside) or a lot (a great amount.)  Where is a place, were is not.  Were is what you used to be.  Or the first part of the word that names guys who turn into slavering($), crazed wolfmen who kill indiscriminately.  I am not alone in bemoaning($) the sad state of our language.  I have several friends who also cringe when they hear or read someone botching($) it.  They even bust me on occasion.  I have been known to confuse whose (possesive form of who) and who's (who is.)  I created a nifty Facebook note called "Guess Whose Coming to Dinner" and was immediately called out on it.  How disconcerting($) to be caught doing the annoying thing that I find so annoying in others!  (Lady Wendy you know who you are!)  English is our language, why can't we speak it?  People speaking badly.

Cars That Take Two Spaces And Other Parking Snafu's

American culture is practically built around cars.  Henry Ford perfected mass production and our love affair was off and running.  Getting our driver's license is a milestone because it means freedom.  Freedon for cruising, dating, and going wherever we want without having to get a ride.  Getting our first car is another milestone.  At last, a vehicle that belongs to us and not one shared with an overprotective parent who gripes if the mirrors are moved and the radio is changed!  Our cars become extensions of our personalities with personalized plates, paint jobs, decals and accessories.  We love our cars like we love members of our families and some people treat their cars better than their family members!  All those places we like to go usually have parking lots and parking lots are where people can really behave badly.  One of the places I like to go has narrow parking places.  Basically, they're trying to cram in as many cars as possible in a fairly small lot, but if people pay attention and park carefully, this isn't a problem.  Instead, someone will just whip into a parking place willy nilly with their tires on or even over the line so the car parking next to them will have to either squeeze up next to them or park over the line in their space as well.  This causes a chain reaction down the row and the last space ends up being unusable because the first guy was too lazy to park correctly.  Plus, the problem isn't rectified when the offending car leaves since all the cars in the row are off kilter.  It just keeps happening over and over as new cars pull in and try to park.  What's up with the people who feel the need to park right in front of the door and block it while waiting for someone inside?  It apparently doesn't occur to them that they're impeding traffic, both the foot kind and the vehicular kind.  They can't pull into a space and drive to the door when their party comes outside?  Although not in a lot, street parking has its share of annoyances.  I hate driving down the street and encountering people who have parked on the wrong side.  In case you're wondering what that means, it's when you park on the left side of the street facing oncoming traffic.  People who do this have to cross traffic to park and again when they leave.  It happens all the time at the mailboxes in my neighborhood.  People think "Oh, I'm only going to be a minute!"  Unfortunately, the mailbox is a high traffic area and I feel as if I take my life in my hands whenever I pick up mail!  The worst parking offense is the people who take more than one space intentionally.  It always seems to happen when the lot is overflowing and everyone is driving around in circles looking for an empty spot.  And it's ALWAYS someone who drives a fancy schmancy vehicle that's been waxed pleather pants shiny with a lot of custom work thrown in.  Apparently, their car is too precious for them to park next to the mediocre vehicles owned by the rest of us and risk getting dinged.  I used to work with a woman who was like that.  She drove a cute little sporty BMW and took up two spots everywhere she went.  At the mall, the grocery store, her kid's school, the doctor's office, everywhere.  One year, during the Christmas shopping frenzy, she pulled her little parking trick in the parking garage at a major shopping center.  When she came back out to her car, to her horror, she discovered her cute little sporty BMW had been keyed.  Repeatedly.  Although I'm not condoning the vandalism, I am not ashamed to admit I felt a tiny spark of glee that she had gotten what she deserved.  Basically, if your car is too priceless for you to park it correctly, leave it at home.  No one is impressed with it or your pretentious behaviour.  Really.  People behaving badly.