Excuse me please but…

Where has common courtesy gone?  Are we so stressed by our modern day lifestyles that many of us have adopted a “me first” policy at the cost of respecting the rights of others?  I’ll apologize in advance as this blog entry might start to sound a bit like that cranky old man from the ’60 Minutes’ TV show!

 

No cell phones

 

 

Ever followed a driver talking on a cell phone?  Nine times out of ten, they’re weaving and wobbling back and forth in their lane of traffic like someone intoxicated, and they are usually going well below the posted speed limit.  Following them can be a nightmare.  Why can’t they pull over somewhere and have that phone conversation if it is so important that it can’t wait until they’re not driving, without endangering and/or inconveniencing others?  Fortunately many countries are implementing laws for just this reason.

Why is it that when some drivers get in the wrong lane and want to turn left at an intersection for example, they think it’s okay just to hold up all the cars in the lane behind them all through the green light, until they can illegally squeak out into the intersection and make their turn?  Why don’t they just go straight through the intersection and find someplace to turn around so that they can correct the mistake without inconveniencing others?

Why do some people park in parking spots designated for handicapped persons, double park or park across driveways when there are proper parking spots short distances away?  Are they so important or is their time so valuable that they can justify breaking the rules and inconveniencing others?  Ironically these same people would probably be enraged if they needed a handicapped parking spot but discovered it was in use by an able-bodied person, or if someone else had the nerve and lack of consideration to block their parked vehicle.

And then there are neighbours…

We have a neighbour who has speakers mounted on the outside of his house aimed directly at our backyard.  He likes U2.  I used to like U2, but after hearing ‘It’s a Beautiful Day’ repeatedly blasted at a volume so loud that I had to shout to my family in our own backyard to be heard above Bono, I have to say U2 and the neighbour are not ranking high on my list of favs!

Another neighbour believes dogs should be allowed to bark because, well, that’s what dogs do.  I had to chuckle recently when I overheard him complaining to the neighbour directly beside him that the children she babysits were too noisy while playing outside in the middle of the day and he wasn’t able to sleep when he worked the night shift.  As if she read my mind, she told him she’d keep the kids quiet if he wouldn’t let his dog outside until it barked and whined to get back into the house every morning at about 6:30.  I haven’t heard the dog recently, so fingers crossed she made her point.

When we first moved in, another neighbour seemed offended that I would send her dog packing when it wandered over to our yard to do its business.

There are other neighbours surrounding our property who have pools.  One of them sits outside monitoring her children while they’re swimming.  The kids are pretty loud and some days I swear if I have to hear one more round of Marco! Marco! Marco- Polo! being screamed out in that pool while I’m trying to enjoy a good book and the sounds of the neighbourhood songbirds, I might scream, but the mother makes it far worse by constantly and loudly yelling at her children to behave and be quiet.  She makes far more noise than the kids!

In an effort to be environmentally-friendly and keep the cost of our electricity bill down, we often shut the air conditioning off on summer nights when there is a bit of a breeze.  A couple of blocks away, we have another neighbour who likes to play cards in the garage with a bunch of people with the door wide open into the wee small hours of the morning nearly every weekend night during the summer.   More than a few beers are consumed too I’m guessing from the loud, slurred and belligerent conversations that we can clearly hear through the open window of our bedroom at 4:30 in the morning.  I hope they’re having a good time because we’re sure not, having to listen to them when we’d prefer to be sleeping.

I guess I just don’t get it.  Maybe I’m old fashioned, or maybe I’m just stupid, but whatever happened to doing unto others as you would have them do unto you?