I regret to inform you that you are not the only one in this store // on this street // in this theatre // on this planet.
I like seeing you catch up with old friends catch up when you run into one another while shopping. I wonder if perhaps you and your friend(s) could move: 1] away from in front of the elevator door; 2] apart from the very top of the escalator; 3] to allow me to enter the dressing room; 4] to avoid blocking the aisle of the store; 5] away from the freezer compartment door; 6] etc. etc. etc. I really don’t like having to ask you to move so I can continue with my shopping. Common courtesy is realizing that there are other people shopping and leaving space for them to continue.
Isn’t it fun to take your child along when going to the grocery. Those “Customer In Training” miniature baskets are so cute. I’m sure that grocer has won you over with his attention to your child. The problem I see is not that the little ones are ‘shopping’ but that often the parent pays no attention to where the child is at any given moment. A family with two or more children might opt for the oversized cart, the one with the front designed as a car as well as a miniature cart thus monopolizing an entire aisle or two. Maybe I’m just cranky, maybe I’ll just shop somewhere else. Even going at midnight to the 24-hour store doesn’t solve the problem. I can do it but wonder why I see families and their very small children out shopping at that hour.
I won’t confine my wonder to shoppers only. It happens with walkers, joggers, cyclists and drivers. While all those might be annoying, motorized vehicles may present the greatest hazard. I’ve been driving for quite a few years. I’ve made mistakes in those years but I know and observe the traffic laws. The number of cars on the road contributes to some difficult situations. But, there are solutions.
PROBLEM: You miss your right hand exit because you are in the far left lane so you swerve across cutting in front of all other drivers.
SOLUTION: Move over slowly and carefully and take the next exit and backtrack. Safer for you and everyone else.
PROBLEM: You want/need to change lanes so you use the turn signal and expect others to give you right-of-way.
SOLUTION: Wait for an opening. The turn signal was designed so you could inform other drivers of your intentions – not as a signal for others to clear a path just for you.
PROBLEM: You weave in and out of traffic at a speed higher than the posted limit.
SOLUTION: Going somewhere? Leave earlier or be late. Either of those is better than having or causing an accident.
PROBLEM: There seems to be something hindering your vision, your grip on the steering wheel, your focus on the road, etc.
SOLUTION: Let the dog ride along but in the back seat, not on the driver’s lap. Refrain from shaving, applying makeup, reading maps, reading texts, fixing your hair, etc. while operating a motor vehicle.
There are others on the road. If all the drivers were determined to cause the problems such as those few mentioned at the same time, well, let’s just say that particular street, road, highway would be impossible to traverse.
Thanks for listening to this cranky shopper, walker, driver.