...people who give dirty looks to crying babies and their parents on airplanes. I actually heard someone "shush!" an infant today on a plane. And it wasn't one of the parents.
First of all, if you have kids that have grown a bit older (like mine), muster up some empathy for those poor, beleaguered parents, Instead of a scowl, flash them a smile. You remember how bad it can be traveling with an unhappy infant.
Second, if you don't have kids and can't muster up some sympathy from the cup of human kindness, just remember this: you were once a baby, and you probably ruined the trips of others when you your ears popped on the descent, too!
Third, realize that by allowing your frustration and irritation show, you will, in most cases, cause a lot of stress and discomfort for the parents of said baby. That, in turn, makes them unhappy and stressed with their kid. And this, in turn, makes the tot even more unhappy. The cycle is so viscious.
So lighten up, be a little friendly, or worst care scenario, stick your head phones on and drowned out junior. But save your scowls for the adults who can make air travel so miserable: the guy who's drunk on cocktails 45 minutes into a trans-Atlantic flight, the traveler with the pea-sized bladder who insists on a window seat, or the jerks who try to board before their zone is called. That crying baby isn't looking so culpable after all......
....people who overlook a single queue of 20 people efficiently feeding into three registers at a store. They just by pass the line and either think, 'Hey, this is my lucky day!", or "Sucka!"
Among my many pet peeves: stupid spell checkers. I mean, even a half-witted software program should be able to figure out that I intend "throgh" to be "through". I am a lousy speller at best and rely heavily on these tools to keep me from looking like an ass (a major effort, with my typing skills). So please, folks, let's agree that if something is being held up as a spelling authority, it has more than 2nd grade spelling skills.
I always wondered when one was actually considered old, and I now know that it is when you hit 36. I crossed that line about a week ago, and for the first time, I received a 'You're getting old" birthday card. Actually, I received three. Note to self: don't give those cards to friends, even those you know well; they may be having a bad day. And I noticed three distinct lines on my forehead which seemed to appear out of nowhere. I thought I was hallucinating, but I checked a close up photo of myself from a few months ago, and low and behold, they were not there. Apparently, when I hit this most recent birthday, my DNA sent out an all-points-bulletin: "OK, boys, she's old, release the wrinkles!" Lastly, at a recent planning for an upcoming fund-raiser for the local arts council, I was told that they have a special program for "young" donors....which they defined as anyone 35 and under. Ouch.
What's interesting about all of this is that it has made me reflect on how I feel about aging, really for the first time in my life. I suppose this is a good thing; there are plenty of ladies doing Botox and chemical peels in the early twenties. Back then, I didn't give a hoot about all this. I saw my mom and grandma still looking pretty good in the 60's and 80's, respectively, and cast my lot with genetics. I still do. I suppose that getting concerned about it in my mid-thirties seems to be fairly level-headed by comparison. Still, I'm not ready to inject botulism into my forehead just yet. But I may feel differently if I start to get offered senior discounts any time soon.
On a recent flight to the West Coast, I had one of those "I wonder what took them so long" moments when I flipped the latch to let down my tray table and viola! An ad appeared smack dab across my lap! It was peddling hazelnut coffee creamer or some such nonesense.
I wonder who it was that made their annual bonus by coming up with this idea of covering every square inch of the tray with promotions? What irked me even more is that back in the good ol' days, everyone was given a tray of food during a long flight which would cover up such uninvited marketing. Now? A smile and $5 gets you some rubbery cubes of cheese and a few packs of saltines.
Between that and the flight attendants spending more time briniging my attention to the Dividend Miles co-promotion with Bank of America than the location of the emergency exit aisles, it seems we've crossed a line. Friendly skies indeed...
What is the greatest compliment you've received?
Submitted by Maraschino.
A co-worker once told me that she admired how I am able to balance ambition and kindness.
The other day, I was helping my husband pick out new eyeglasses. The ones he had were old, and he'd sat on them so many times that they sat crooked on his face. While we looked through the panoply of options, I felt an old surge of teenage envy. Yes, I was one of those losers who wished I could be cool like the kids who had braces and glasses. And while I have since gotten over my lust for a mouth full of metal, I do still yearn for the excuse to buy many pairs of cool specs. Now, I have plenty of friends who suffer through the daily injustices of contacts and bifocals; you'd think I'd know better. But maybe one of these days, my vision will start to slide....not enough to really affect my day to day activities, but just enough to buy a pair of these babies.....
With the glow of the holidays still upon us, some of you may be thinking you were pretty generous in the gift-giving department this year. But unless you donated an organ to a loved one, I think you'll have to give the prize to my friend Lee, who is doing just that early next week. Seems Lee's dad is in need of a kidney, and so he decided to forgo the traditional golf clubs and fruitcake and go under the knife himself. Pretty amazing, huh?
I thought the least I could do was to make him a little something to help in his recover, which will last several weeks. I went to Goodwill and bought a wool turtleneck sweater. I felted it by washing it in hot water in our washing machine and drying it on high heat. The greatly reduced sweater was then fitted around a traditional hot water bottle, trimmed to size with pinking shears, and stitched around the three open sides. The neck is left open to take the bottle in and out.
Lee, I am amazed at your act of generosity; let's all be thinking good thoughts for him and his dad next week. What's the most generous thing you've even seen someone do?
