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December 23, 2002

Bah Freakin' Humbug!

I made the mistake of venturing forth to finish up my Christmas shopping today. My original assumption that people would be at work and that maybe things wouldn't be as crowded was quickly beaten into a bloody pulp by the harsh club of reality. To liven things up a bit it's also been raining off and on all day. My supply of good will towards men has been severely depleted by various offenses against good manners, common sense, and good driving habits. Here are a few annoyances, peeves, and plaintive whines (in no particular order):

  • Why is it so damn hard for some people to use their turn signals? They drive along and come to a complete stop in the road and then, at the last second, dart into a side street. Is it that they don't want anyone to know where they're going? Is it that big of a damn secret that they have to put me at risk of getting rear-ended by some dipnut who has been tailgating me because of their slow ass?
  • I'm driving a 5600 lb. blue Chevrolet Avalanche with daytime running lights. I know I can be seen. Why, then, do people insist on pulling out in front of me and then driving 10 miles under? And why do they wait until I'm almost upon them to pull out (when they've been sitting there for 5 or 10 seconds)?
  • What sadistic bastard designed KB Toys? Who decided to put the shelves so damn close together? There's no room to move in there.
  • If you're buying groceries at WalMart, take them to one of the main registers. Let those of us just buying wrapping paper and gift bags have the ones in the Christmas department. They don't have room back there for all that crap you're buying and it slows everyone down (although WalMart could do us all a favor and open ALL the damn registers in the front of the store instead of letting them get 10 deep).
  • If you and your companion or whatever or walking down the aisle in a store, consider that other people may want to get by. Especially if you're just yakking and strolling with no particular purpose. Some of us know what we want and where to find it.
  • Swinging wide to turn went out of style years ago. Even SUVs don't need that damn much room to turn. If I can make that turn without swinging out, then I know you don't need to do it in your puny little Toyota. It'll also save on misunderstandings where I thought that you were going to sideswipe me.
  • See that yellow stripy looking thing on the street? It's a lane marker. Do cell phones suddenly make them invisible? Quit yakkin' and start drivin'.
  • Rushing up and pulling into my lane at the last second, just before I have to stop at the light, is a game fraught with peril, especially if you're driving a little econobox. Perhaps you should consider that just maybe I know what I'm doing and I left that space there for something silly like braking distance and not as an invitation for you.
  • Following me closely as I'm walking is a bad idea. It's an even worse idea to be obvious about it. Don't be surprised if I stop or suddenly dive into a store. I live in condition yellow and your actions are making my danger detectors twitch. Trust me, I'm a bad mark and trying to rob me is a really bad idea (you won't get shot, unless you pull a weapon on me, but I'm not going to make it easy for you).

It's almost like people are so caught up in their own little concerns that they've forgotten basic common sense and all consideration for others. If there's one thing that I hate about this time of year it's the rudeness and "me first" attitude that seems to come out. The season of good will toward man only seems to last until the first traffic backup or until the last Zip Zap car is gone. I try really hard to be considerate of others, but it's been a real test of patience this year.

The driving that I saw today was so horrible that I decided that I didn't want any further part of it. I came home and I'm going to stay here until early tomorrow morning, when I'm going to head to East Texas. Maybe most of these bad drivers won't be out that early in the morning. I just hope it doesn't snow tonight. We don't usually get snow here in this part of Texas. When it snows it's always accompanied by a layer of ice. It's the ice that makes things really interesting.

Posted by Aubrey at December 23, 2002 04:39 PM
Comments

I just finished an Education course and as part of the assignments , I wrote a report on a toy store. As this is a PC ed. course, I wrote a PC report (got an A in the course[which would not have happened if I had fired up one of my big Cubans about half way trough class.] Good Lord are they doom, death and disfigurement on smoking in class anymore). I do have to admit that I drove to the store in my GMC suburban,-rust,gas fumes,cigar fumes & all ("No sir officer those aren't MY beer cans, I picked them up off the road to clean the environment")
Large Toy Store
Report as follows, Skip :

The toy store visited was K B Toys in the Colonial Mall at the Briarcliffe Acres section of North Myrtle Beach, SC. This visit was on September 15,2002. The visit was specifically to fulfill this assignment. K B Toys is a nationwide chain with about 1300 stores. While it advertises toys for all age children, this store was stocked almost entirely with toys aimed at infants and toddlers, early childhood, and some middle childhood interests.
First impression was that the shelves were stocked with a plethora of gaudy, bright toys in packages that could be described best as “tacky” or “Gauche”. At first glance the store was an eye-catching jumble of merchandise. The first section, the right front, started with the electronic games. They were an interesting, rather highly priced mixture of male-oriented entertainment action games and gender-neutral educational games and learning videos. Immediately adjacent to the electronics came a section of notebook/pen/organizers sets that while some male/female covers were evident, most were again gender-neutral as were the traditional games across the isle. Scrabble, chess sets and checkers have a universal appeal.
Further down, male and female type toys were rather evenly space throughout the store. For example Robo-Cop toys were across from pink baby doll strollers and boxes adorned with little girls showing off Wish beads were over the G I Joe toy tanks. At the back of this store, over viewed by Muppets, Barney, Teddy and Yogi, were brightly colored sensorimotor stage riding, building, and motor-skill development type toys that were as close to “androgynous” as any in the store.
The center of the store was filled with light-sabers, Tonka toy cars, walkie-talkies, and dinosaurs with Barbie taking center stage. Male-female, female-male interspersed with gender-neutral educational toys showed a carefully studied pattern of “randomness”. The remainder of the store contained a selection on neutral, or perhaps androgynous, in-line skates and scooters opposite classic baby dolls on the back-left wall. The store clerk said the top sellers this year were these scooters and skates. It was noted that these were placed furthest from the entrance.
Halfway down the first isle, it became apparent that this chain had put no small amount of research into child development and subsequent marketing to the child and adult purchaser. Whether it is good marketing, or a sign of changing gender-role stereotypes, a surprising number of the toys do not overtly advertise to one gender. For example, the baking oven, which has been carefully redesigned for safety, had a packaging scheme and color that may very well appeal to the future male chef, as well as the traditional female “homemaker”.


I need another PBR, Humbug to all,Skip

Posted by: Skippy Fanning at December 23, 2002 09:49 PM
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