Mean old people...

What makes old people think that they can be rude, mean, & generally unpleasant when they're in the grocery store??

I was raised to respect my elders. I'll hold doors, give them my seat, help with packages - generally whatever I can do that would be helpful and not insulting. I have the utmost respect for my elders. But man, some of them just do not deserve it.

There must have been 50 people over the age of 75 at the grocery store today. Only one of them was pleasant. The rest? Several blocked the aisles. One came to a complete & sudden stop right in front of me so that I almost plowed her over - then looked at me like I was at fault. (Maybe I was - is rear-ending someone with a cart like rear-ending them with a car?) One glared at me because I dared to stop & grab something off a shelf. Another came racing (yeah, I know - most move at a snail's pace, but this one was a regular Dale Earnhardt) around the corner & almost plowed into me. I stopped, and said, "I'm sorry. Excuse me." - even though it wasn't my fault - but she just gave me a hateful look & jerked her cart around to pass me. Then I had to wait 5 minutes in the cereal aisle because two old biddies older ladies were chatting right in front of the cereal I needed, and they couldn't hear me saying "excuse me".

Seriously? What is it about the grocery store that makes senior citizens act like Cujo? Are they hungry? Geesh - there's a Starbucks as you walk in - grab a frappuccino or something. Did they miss a nap? Go home & come back later! Are they in pain? Here's some ibuprofen & the keys to the motorized cart. Do they need help? Just ask!!

If my kids had ever behaved like these seniors, I would've given them one warning and then given them a time-out. And they wouldn't get to go to the store next time. I never allowed them to act like that in public.

Is this kind of behavior something I need to fear as I grow older? Will I one day wake up, go to the grocery store, and suddenly have the urge to block aisles, cut people off, and glare at anyone who makes eye contact with me? Okay, sometimes I do the glaring thing now, but will I start doing the other stuff? I can only hope that my kids will take me out of the store & give me a time out if I go over to the dark side.

Love thy neighbor...

Yeah, right. It's difficult to love your neighbors when you have neighbors like mine. Well, it's mostly one family that's annoying...

A couple of years ago, they planted 5 pine trees near our fence line. No problem - they want some privacy - so do we!! It was fine the first year. They weren't the loveliest pine trees around, but I could deal with it.

Here are the pine trees this year:

Not very nice, right? Well, let's take a closer look:

Yep, that's right. Not only are the trees dead, but they have massive weeds growing under, around, & up through them. I think perhaps they plan to use the trees as a base for topiaries. I can only hope, because that is definitely the lesser of all of the possible evils.

These people have hot tub parties and play the music so loud that we can hear it inside our house with all of the windows closed - at 2:00 am. Hey, I like to party with my cool neighbors (the ones who live in our cul-de-sac), but we don't disturb everyone else & we sure aren't blasting music at 2:00 in the morning.

If you look closely at the first picture, you can see that they have patched the siding on their back porch. Unfortunately, it's nowhere close to the color of the original siding. Yet another lovely thing we get to stare at if we sit on our deck. It annoys me more than it should - but I think that's because they do so many other annoying things.

A couple of winters ago, they decided to "seal up" their back porch. Now most people would have put plastic on the inside, but not them. They put it on the outside & held it in place with 2X4's. They didn't even bother to trim the excess plastic. It just flopped in the wind. That was really pretty to look at all winter. Thank goodness they haven't done it again. Yet. Oh, please, don't let them do it again.

They have two kids - a girl around 18 months and a boy around 4. The boy is a brat and the mom likes to scream at him a lot. (I'm going to call him Bratty Boy - because he's a bratty boy, and because his mom always uses his first & middle names when she screams at him.) You can hear this inside our house with the windows closed (God forbid you should be outside while she's yelling - yikes - it's deafening). 

They have a dog that they like to tie up outside - and he likes to bark. A lot. We have a dog, too (Riley) - but if he starts barking, he has to come inside. I don't let him bother the neighbors. I caught Bratty Boy standing on our fence one day, trying to poke Riley with a stick. Riley was slobbering, barking, & going crazy like a rabid beast, but that didn't stop BB - and Mom was nowhere to be seen. I had to go out and tell BB to stop bothering Riley - and that he should always leave Riley alone because he bites. :-)

The other day, I noticed Bratty Boy in his yard playing with one of his friends. BB was swinging a golf club. Yeah. Now that's the kind of toy to give to a kid like BB. I thought to myself - he's gonna hit that other kid in the head. Where was Mom? Nowhere to be seen, as usual. A couple of minutes later, I hear crying. When I looked out the window, the other kid was crying, & BB's mom was screaming at the top of her lungs. Again. Guess what happened? Luckily, the other kids seemed to be okay.

I wanna love my neighbors, but they sure do make it difficult!!! Argh!!!

If you can't say something nice...

I know I shouldn't be, but I am constantly amazed by the number of rude people out there. I'm talking about people who don't know how to voice their opinion without being obnoxious.

I'm all for speaking your mind - as a matter of fact, I think that most of the time, it doesn't pay to be quiet. But there are definitely times when you need to stop and think about what you're getting ready to say. Ask yourself if it's really necessary - or if there is a way to word it so that it's not offensive - or if it's going to make you look like an uneducated, immature ass.

For example, if you read someone's personal blog and you disagree with something they write about - before posting a comment, you should probably ask yourself if the comment is appropriate. After all, it's someone's personal blog - with their personal opinions - and their personal observations. It's not the gospel - it's not the law. So should you really make a comment telling that person that they are wrong/shallow/ridiculous/vain? Or would it be better to say something like "I feel differently" or "I see it this way" or "This is my opinion"?

There's a lot of truth to Thumper's father's advice - if you can't say something nice... don't say nothing at all. You can be nice and still have a different opinion. I have no problem with opinions that differ from mine. Opinions - we all have them - we all have a right to ours - and that's the way it should be...Amen. But insulting me on my blog is like coming into my home and insulting me. Would you want me to come to your house and insult you? I would like to think that your mother taught you better. Or perhaps she did, and she would be just as appalled at your behavior as I.

So if you make a comment on one of my blog posts and it's rude, insulting, or otherwise disrespectful - don't expect to see it posted. That's why the comments are moderated. Please take your nastiness elsewhere. On the other hand, if you have a well-thought-out comment to make and you're respectful in your wording, I have no problem with posting it for everyone to see. I know not everyone will agree with me and I wouldn't have it any other way. Variety is the spice of life!

My readers are awesome - but over the past couple of days, I've had people appear out of nowhere just to make rude comments. I don't know these people - they've never commented on my blog before - and apparently they're just signing up for an ID just to make a rude comment. Nice, huh?

I apologize for the need for this little soapbox rant. We now return to our regularly scheduled program. I'm going to go listen to Nirvana's "Lake of Fire"...