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462 days ago
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Topic tags/keywords:
rambling
I was driving to work today. I had my kids and was dropping them off with my mom and dad. As I approached a busy local intersection, the car in front of my ran the stop sign. They continued on. It’s a 4 way stop. The car to the right of me also ran their stop sign. The intersection was finally clear so I proceeded. My 8 year old asked, “Aren’t they supposed to stop at those?” I said, “Yes.” She asked, “Why didn’t they?” I replied, “I’m not sure, little one, but always make sure you stop at stop signs.” She says, “You never know what the other person is going to do,” and puts her ipod back on. (I hate those things.)
We came up to an area that is being developed. There are lots of big machines moving dirt and dump trucks. My 2 year old loves machines. I decided that we had some time, so I pulled over so he could watch. I rolled down the window so he could hear the sounds of the machines. My daughter turned up her ipod. Then a man that was sitting behind the wheel of a dump truck yelled, “What the F$&% are you looking at?” I’m glad I took the time to stop. Then I listened to my 2 year old say, ” F$&%, F$&%, F$&%, F$&%, F$&%, F$&%, F$&%, F$&%” He’s 2. If I try and tell him not to say that, he’ll never stop. Much to my daughters dismay, and to my delight, he finally stopped.
I carried on through our normal route when I came across a barricade. There was not warning, no signs, just road blocks. I laughed to myself because, now I’m late. I had lots of time before…not I don’t. We drove past the construction sight again and the friendly fellow in the truck flipped me the bird. I waved back. As I drove the “back way,” along an 80Km/h road, there was a fellow driving 30Km/h. Great. I turned off because that’s just silly. I end up behind a street cleaner going 5km/h. Not a great trade. I come up to a four way stop and the car to my left, in a brilliant display of impatience, rolled the stop sign to make sure they saved that 12 seconds they would have had to wait allowing me to proceed. I looked back at my daughter. She rolled her eyes. We proceeded.
After getting the kids settled at my parents, I headed back to work. I’m only 5 minutes late, but that’s actually a big deal. Now I’m actually 25 minutes behind. Don’t ask. This is only going to get worse as now I’m writing this. I need that 15 minutes of time to myself. Have a coffee. Read some email. Look at the schedule. It’s self indulgent, but I’m not pretending it’s anything else.
I was listening to the radio. The announcer was interviewing some author. She wrote a book about how we have forgotten how to have fun. We are obsessed with money, taking our blood pressure and how much time we spend on our treadmills. I had to start laughing. It’s a pretty shallow viewpoint, but it’s not wrong. It’s not complete, but also not wrong.
Is this age of self importance, greed and a general absence of common courtesy, a healthy way to live. The adoption of the McDonald’s drive-thru mentality to living. Instant gratification. Over the top impatience. A basic premiss that the 7 deadly sins are becoming a way of life. The credo that the difference between right and wrong is what we think we can get away with. I don’t live that way. I know that my friends at LJ don’t think that way, but man? What’s a fellow to do.
Take some time, smell a flower, say hello to stranger, smile at a child, pet a dog, enjoy the breeze on your face and appreciate what’s around you….
Last story: I was walking down the mainstreet of my hometown with a visiting priest from Nigeria. We were talking about something or other. We met a man, as you would when walking down a street. We met eyes. I said, “Good morning!” He said, “Morning, have a great day!” I walked on. Father Victor says, “Who was that?” I said, “I have no idea. I’ve never seen him before.” He asked, “Then why did you greet him?” I had to ponder that for awhile. I said “When two strangers meet on a sidewalk, they are both a little nervous. A friendly greeting relaxes both and it becomes an important positive interaction in a day. Walking past someone and not saying anything is soon forgotten. An exchange of smiles and a simple hello, is memorable.” He said, “In Nigeria, we keep our head down and don’t talk to strangers.” I asked him why? He said, you don’t want to get mugged. I must live in La La Land.
I’m just rambling now…
-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)
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462 days ago
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And you live in Canada….. I was thinking this was a California thing. Adding to it. With globalization and internet connectivity it seems like work never ends… Work is too available now in the technology industry and also is more and more being sold to the lowest bidder worldwide.
-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov
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462 days ago
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Sounds like my drive to work without the dump truck driver cursing me out for looking. What was his problem? You have my problems of driving, too. With the stop sign and red light runners, speeders and all out road terroist,as I like to call them. I’m usually the one that takes an alternate route just to get into worse traffic are behind some one slower. I had to laugh at the fact you went from 30KM/h to 5Km/h. Thanks for the story and I hope your son soon forgets that great positive lesson of vocabulary from the trucker.
-- Jesus is Lord!
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462 days ago
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On the flip side globalization and the internet allows us all to congregate here to yap about woodworking on some guy from Slovakias site (that’s written in a language created by some guy in Japan)
-- I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso
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462 days ago
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Quote: On the flip side globalization and the internet allows us all to congregate here to yap about woodworking on some guy from Slovakias site (that’s written in a language created by some guy in Japan)
... read by a guy in Canada and concurrently by….
-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)
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462 days ago
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I agree that there are lots of postivies. Part of it is figureing out how to adapt to the environment without driving yourself into the ground or losing your humanity.
-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov
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462 days ago
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Tom:
Take a deep breath and decide how you are going to cope with this increasing level of incivility in our society.
Some feel it is part of the breakdown of the family unit, others feel it’s a breakdown in religious values.
I personally feel that the current rudeness and egocentricism is the direct result of not being allowed to carry guns!
Bob
-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner
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462 days ago
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I agree with you, Bob!
-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)
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462 days ago
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have faith.. our society is changing again.
We have gone from the war generations who had nothing, valued everything and when they got everything they did not keep it for themselves, they gave it to their children. Bless their hearts.
And so these children of “things” also had children and believed that it was necessary for their children to have things, it became a world of “me, me, me”.
But now, there is a turn, where family and community becomes more important. “Giving” is now becoming the way to live. Make the world better. We are getting there, one Frank and one Tom at a time. :)
Tom… your story made me laugh out loud (the 2 year old… uh huh… and then having to drive back…) yah.lol
I think you need to check your blood pressure. Perhaps you can spend some time on a treadmill to take out your frustrations.
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
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462 days ago
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I live out in the middle of no where on a 100 acre farm where all i see is wild life and here the little birdies chirping all day long.
I haven’t driven a car in 6 years since my little crash with a double tanker gasoline truck.
Every once in a while i go into town to get groceries with a friend and when i see the way everyone is always in a hurry and they look miserable i realize that i am happy right where i am out in the middle of piece and quiet.
I lived in the city for most of my life and i sure don,t miss it.
-- John in Cranbrook http://www.extremebirdhouse.com ....http://community.webshots.com/user/cranbrook2
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462 days ago
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yah.. .I listen to road rage stories and retaliates and “one-up-manships” and I shake my head…... relax people.. relax.
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
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462 days ago
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More and more I feel like John. I’m happy here where I am. I worked for 45 years always looking at a deadline, or two or three.
My wife is after me to work on her kitchen. But you know It will get done but maybe not on her schedule. BUT I’m having fun.
-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com
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462 days ago
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Schedule, What’s a Schedule?
-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1
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462 days ago
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Today a good Friend of mine visited me about 9:00 this morning and announced that his bookkeeper had embezzled him out of $60,000.00 dollars .
This afternoon he came back after “forensics” with his accountant and announced that it was closer to $135,000.00.
This guy bent over backward for this employee even picking up tuition fees and book fees for her child.
He gave his late model car to her, because hers was worn out, and bought a new one.
It kind of brought me full circle to the question that Mot proposed today.
Bob
-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner
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462 days ago
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Thankfully I’m off the treadmill at such an early age – and there isn’t anyway for anyone to embezzle me out of such a sum of money. Yes we’ve sure found such a great community here, too bad the rest of the world thinks that (or doesn’t think, but just goes on) keeping up with the Joneses is neccessary.
I may gripe I”m busy, but most of my “projects” are of my own doing (though I’ll blame my muse and over active imagination) I keep reading about all these Farmers pushing 70 and 80, not retiring because nobody wants to take over the farm, and they want to make sure the land isn’t sold off for real estate. I know it’d be a hard life, but, like John, to live and work on the same plot of land is an intruiging proposition. And while I may get lonely for human contact, with friends visiting, and spening time with my fellow jocks online, at least I’d be subjecting myself to the people and attitudes that matter most to me.
Sorry to hear about such a commute there Mot, but at least you’re in the right place mentally, and it sounds like your kids get it too – once your son forgets his new vocabulary lesson!
-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/
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462 days ago
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Mot . . . I agree there is a problem with society and it revolves around the $$. The best thing that you can do is keep up the good parenting with your two young’ns, passing on all your values, so that they can grow up to be good people like you.
I have a couple of friends who are teachers – one Jr High and one High school. teachers cant say or do anthing to students, and when the parents are called . . . the teachers are blamed for the student’s problems. The parents want to take no responsibility and want someone else or a “disease” to be responsible for thier children’s problem. Kids get a little hyper . . . give em drugs.
Another thing is that people are running their bodies on garbage. Good food is often more expensive than the fast, high fat and high salt slop that is pushed through the golden arches. We need to eat more natural food.
Oh . . . and dont get me started on the topic of pesticides. The American EAP is lightyears ahead of our Health Canada in recognizing the nasty effects of these chemicals.
Ok . . . time to get off the soapbox. Sorry for the hyjack :-/
-- The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them
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461 days ago
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It certainly seems we are spiraling down into the pits. When I consider all of the irrational behavior I see becoming the norm I wonder if we are going mad as a race. If the collective was an individual what a schizophrenic we’d be.
-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org
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461 days ago
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Hi Mot;
—-a great read here, and thanks for writing such a wonder-full story!
And I had to laugh on the one where Debbie talks of ‘road rage’....so I’ll tell a story. A friend of mine who runs a sawmill was talking along the lines of your story, when he commented about all the folks working in factories and offices and then comes the end of the day, where everyone races for there car to get in line on the interstates for that trip home. And then we wonder why so much needless killing, wrecks and road rage out there on the ‘raging road’. He told me; Frank….how can I ever fill road rage at the end of the day, since I’m wrestling with logs all day long….at the end of the day I’m beat and just thankful to be able to go home.
If more folks took the time to just be thank-full, what an inheritance we could pass on….smiles are contagious and the only thing thy cost, is being able to look an-other such as you in the eye….and smile! We never know when we’ve drawn that last breath of fresh air….and as for me, I want to pass on with a smile on my face after giving a smile and seeing that face light up with smiles.
GODSPEED,
Frank
-- --frank, NH, http://frank.wordpress.com/
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432 days ago
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Tom,
Great story and as Wayne said it sounds like a California story. What I find interesting is your Nigerian friends comment. I visited the Ivory Coast in 1996 and they are very polite and greet everyone as they pass. I found it very nice. Another thing about their country I loved was their patience with people who were late. Rather than assuming they were being rude they just waited for them even if it were for hours. They felt if someone was late then they must be visiting with someone and giving them the benefit of their time.
-- Steffen
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432 days ago
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By golly, Tom, you stirred one up with this one. I’m going to be the odd man out here and comment on what I see when I go to the city. Like I’ve said we have to drive 62 miles to the grocery store. When we get there we are in the Treasure Valley which is basically Caldwell, Nampa and Boise, Idaho. This is one of the fastest growing places in the world. Traffic is bumper to bumper for about 16 hours per day. The place is growing so fast that the infrastucture cannot keep up . The construction almost approaches a boom town. And yet, people still wave you into traffic instead of letting you sit forever. They cheerfully allow even the obnoxious to merge on the freeway and you hardly ever see anyone run a stop sign or redlight. I’m sure these things happen and we are seeing a rise in all problems urban. For the present some things here are pleasant.
The other Tom
-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon
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432 days ago
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I’m just down the road from Tom here in Idaho. Driving here is crazy. Half the people trained on California freeways and then you get this old buzzard in a pick up truck diving in out of the desert. He is is more use to driving threw herds of cattle than actually have to merge into traffic. You learn real quick to give these guys plenty of room. You just stop anfd wave them by…and hope they survive.
(just poking fun at ya Tom!!!)
-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com
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429 days ago
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I used to fit in the category of the stop sign runner and always being impatient. Then I served nine months in Iraq. The little things that used to tick me off just aren’t important anymore. The things I used to think I had to do NOW, take a lot longer to accomplish. I take my time to just sit and think and take in life. Life’s kinda nice. And way too short to waste.
-- Eric Olson Springfield, MO Rock Creek Designs
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429 days ago
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You musty have been i8n Dallas
-- WOOD/DON (...one has the right to ones opinion but not the right to ones own facts...)
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428 days ago
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Good Post, Mot! And, Eric, war is a truly great “lesson” on what is really important in one’s life! We truly miss the really important treasures in life when we hurry along: The casual smile of an 5-year-old, The warmth of the sun on a winter day, The excitement of a construction site (sans the annoying vocabulary), The beauty of the sun glistening on a meandering stream, The smell of sawdust when you open the door to your shop in the morning (kinda makes ya want to stop and inhale the fragrance! Isn’t that why we “wor” in wood?) .... etc, etc, etc.
Life does seem to move way too fast for old dinosaurs like me. I remember driving into Montreal and how crazy they drove there. Now I was schooled in driving in Denver, honed it in So. Cal., but I “escaped” back to my mountains in Colorado, and now in SE Arizona. We have 4 acres, pleasntly close enough to town (5 miles), yet secluded and surrounded by mature trees. My “shop” is my gravel driveway, but my tools are stored under cover in a garage and I am ruly happy here.
Sometimes it takes us a lifetime to fully be able to appreciate the simple things in life!
God Bless,
Hawg
-- Saving barnwood from the scrapyards
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428 days ago
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perhaps without the craziness we wouldn’t know what we should be/could be appreciating!
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
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428 days ago
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Hey, Dennis, be nice to the old buzzards in the cowboy hats. That might be me, except I’m young and purty, well, I used to be. I’ve driven in Twin and it is a little nuts. Probably because the river is so far below the Perine bridge.
-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon
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428 days ago
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Nuts is right we always got folks jumpin off that bridge.
-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com
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428 days ago
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NUTS....try commuting into Boston (1-2 hours each way) for 20 years. The last 5 years during the start of the Big Dig. I grew up and learned to drive in Boston. Arguably home to the most aggresive drivers on the planet (except for Jamaicain bus drivers but that’s a different story). It took having my brain zapped to get me to calm down behind the wheel. I all of a sudden found myself saying what’s the rush. I now try to drive calmly and with consideration of others. It takes me 5 minutes longer to get where I’m going. Why did I stress for all those years over 5 minutes?
-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org
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427 days ago
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and doesn’t it make you feel good when you “just let him in”
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
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