2001-06-19 - 21:38 MDT

THE WONDERING JEW

Geeze And Whine

THIS IS THE SHORT LIST

It is an accepted fact to me that the world is speeding up and has been even more so since the industrial revolution. You know, the time that the machines rebelled against the working man. Golly the prices of Lexus, or is it Lexii, Lexa ? and the SUV's keeps going up. Rebellion, pure and simple. We as men make 'em, and they break us.

I am mentally keeping informal track of the percentage of persons of good will in comparison to the others. The A__holes are obvious, it is the sprightly people who speedily slip into a handicapped parking space, hop out of the car and when challenged say, "I'm only gonna be a minute." Is that what John Wilkes Booth said at Ford Theater that night ? In that minute some fumbling, bumbling old geezer like me may have to troll for a place to park and end up in the south 40, which is way-y-y-y out there and have to stumble in and sit down to rest before doing business.

That is the A__hole type crowd. The by golly militant line jumpers.

But there is the other type of discourteous activity, seemingly on a civil basis that gets me a tad upset too. If I am making my way slowly down the supermarket aisle and am headed for the checkout stands and some swift moving person moves ahead of me, well, that is life. But when people walk directly into my face and expect me to stand aside, then I get a bit miffed, rightly so I think. So they are in a hurry already, they can't swerve a bit ? Wouldn't that just be common courtesy ? And those big hulks standing shooting the breeze blocking an aisle requiring one who wishes to pass through to ask, sometimes twice, "Excuse me please," and being let through blasted by glares. How dare he. And not all those hulks are men either. Then there are the singles who manage to block an aisle with their body and their grocery cart, sometimes doing that just ahead of me, and who would let me stand 'til they get damn good and ready to move on rather that pull the cart aside. They also don't react well to an, "Excuse me." There are ones who obviously are willing to pop a hamstring to come clear across the store to slip into the checkout stand ahead of me, almost tripping me.

There is I guess a fine, movable line distinguishing the A__holes from the merely discourteous. Each case to be thought about as I go my way. Merely an amusement, I don't even think of carrying a gun and blasting people away who frustrate me in an unmannerly way.

And now for the other kind, God Bless them and their Mamas and Papas. Like the man on crutches taking a look at me as I approached the Post Office door and hurried up, held the door open for me and then stepping in and holding the inside door too. The kind who do a nicety and say when thanked, "Ah, its nothing," -- with a smile. How many folks of the other persuasion have forgotten the word and the meaning of it ? How many of them remember how to smile ? By golly, there are so many of the nice people around now. Maybe they are gaining a bit. They average about the same age range as the thundering herd, but they were raised right or at least herded into the right philosophy. No doubt some of them became gracious and helpful on their own, having learned by observing the opposite behavior as they grew up.

There are also the clueless, thoughtless ones who will cut across four lanes of traffic to catch an off ramp, the ones who sleep at the stoplight, moving when honked at and usually leaving the ones behind stuck by a red light. The ones who are in a hurry unconsciously tailgating the car ahead. The ones who with a cell phone in their ear and with the other hand fumbling around on their seat for something who drive in so very dangerous manner that every one on that road going in that direction is threatened by immediate oblivion, the horrendous crash avoided by the desperate, split second activities of those threatened. The phoniac proceeding on his way, never even realizing the destruction he almost caused.

I do solemly swear that when I get so old and feeble that I have to go 20 mph on a 35 mph street, hugging the curb - I WILL QUIT DRIVING ! Maybe I might get one of those adult size tricycles and ride the sidewalks.

There was I suppose, a kinder, gentler more leisurely time, in the Garden of Eden ---------- before the fall. Since that time I think that speed has been building and cruelty, and deliberate discourtesy all have increased logarithmically.

Who could possibly read the old Burma Shave signs as their car whips down the highway at 10 mph over the 65 - 75 mph allowed ? On the streets in town, if the speed limit is 25 mph and there is no cop obvious the people travel at 30 mph or more. 35 mph limit is done at 40 or 45 mph. And the suicidal people going to or coming from work who will try to speed up to 50 mph or so in the hopes they will make it through the intersection before the light turns red. I have seen cars turning left move in a continuous stream through a red light - - - is there any real need for that kind of thing ?

I am not the old Geezer in Ziggy who says in many ways that the world is going to hell. It does bother me that people seem to consider that they and those with them are human and the rest of us, cattle to be shoved aside.

Makes me laugh thinking about how things have changed. Years ago the police who patrolled the highways in Colorado were called the Courtesy Patrol. Remarkably they were courteous and helpful too. Often people in roadway trouble would heave a sigh of relief when they saw one headed their way, because they knew he would help. Nowadays if they stop to help someone or give them a ticket and don't get shot, they are often crippled or bumped off by careless, speeders.

So, old man, rest a bit, what comes after the Geez And Whine ? ? ? ? ? ?

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