Today is Sunday, July 27.  There are 36 days until Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer and 56 days until the actual last day of summer.  We remember the natal anniversaries of Alexandre Dumas, Leo Durocher and Norman Lear.  On this day in 1586 Sir Walter Raleigh brought the first tobacco to England from Virginia, in 1837 the US Mint opened in Charlotte, NC, in 1844 fire destroyed the US Mint in Charlotte, NC and in 1990 Zsa Zsa Gabor began her three day jail sentence for slapping a cop.  In Puerto Rico they are celebrating the birthday of Jose Celso Barbosa, in Gilroy California the Gilroy Garlic Festival ends today and in the Virgin Islands tomorrow is Hurricane Supplication Day.

I have been noticing recently that people, in general, have become totally oblivious to everything and everyone around them.  Each person functions as if he or she is the only person around and; therefore, the only person who counts.  Examples abound.  All you have to do is watch as you go through your day.  That is assuming you realize there are other people around you.

Here are some of the things I have seen recently.  I was out running errands yesterday and had to parallel park in front of the store I was going to.  I know, some of you are asking what that is.  It is when you have to park your car at the curb with one car in front of you and one behind.  It was all the rage when I was learning how to drive … but I digress.  So here is the picture – I am one of five cars in the line.  I am the only car moving. 

All the other cars are parked and no one is in them.  As I am backing into the space, my backup alarm starts beeping very rapidly.  I look in my mirror to see if I had missed something and there was a woman darting behind my car to get to the store.  She had parked across the street and run over to the store.  Why she had to go behind the only car that was moving is beyond me.  I don’t think she knew I was backing up.  I can understand how she might have missed it – I was driving a black SUV and was in motion (please note the sarcasm in my voice).  The store was a pool and spa supply store.  Maybe she was afraid they were going to run out of PH increaser and that would spoil the pool party she had scheduled for later in the day.

One of the best places to see examples of this phenomenon is at a mall.  Here is an example that I saw recently.  A young woman was standing in the middle of foot traffic, talking on her phone.  She was having a conversation about something important, I am sure.  She finished her chat, put her phone in her purse, turned and walked right into a guy.  Had it occurred to her that there might be someone else in the mall on a Saturday, she might have looked before she started walking.  What made it even better was that she was with the guy she walked into and had apparently forgotten he was there.

People have become so absorbed in themselves that they do not even bother to think about anyone else.  They walk along staring at their phone and would walk into people if they did not get out of the way.  What makes it better is when two people going in opposite directions bump into each other because they are not looking at where they are walking but are absorbed in their electronic devices.  When that happens, both people stop, give the other person a look that says, “Jeez, can’t you watch where you are going?” and then just walk on, again concentrating on their device.  It never occurs to them that maybe they should look up once in a while.

You see the same type of attitude when people are driving.  They are on the phone.  Yes I know it is illegal but they do not care because the law apparently does not apply to them.  Besides, there are never any cops around to enforce the law, so who really cares … oops, digressing again.  People drive as if they are the only car on the road.  When they decide to change lanes, they change.  It is not their responsibility to watch to see if there is someone where they want to go.  It is your responsibility to watch out for them.  If I want to go from the far left lane across two lanes of traffic to get off at the exit that I am about to pass and almost missed because I was not paying attention to the signs, that is what I will do.  You need to be more careful and attentive so that you don’t crash into me.

I could go on and on, but after a while it becomes as tedious to write about it as it does for you to have to read it.  The bottom line is that people do not worry about anyone but themselves and too bad for the rest of us.  A couple weeks ago I mentioned that it was a day when there were no holidays.  Maybe we could create one for that day.  It could be “Watch Out For Others Day.”  We could encourage everyone to pay attention to what is going on around them.  We could have flash rallies where people could walk through a mall and watch for people to avoid walking into.  We could sell T-Shirts that say things like “I See You” or “Please don’t walk into me!”  We could create bumper stickers that say “This car brakes for other cars.”

Or not.

This week our fact tells us that an American urologist bought Napoleon’s penis for $40,000.  There really isn’t much more I can say about this.  All I want to know is who it was bought from and why it was bought.

It is Sunday, July 20 and there are only 158 days until Christmas.  Time to start wrapping gifts and hiding them so you can forget where they are and then have to buy new ones for some people and then find the first set in January when you are putting the decorations away.  Today we recognize the birthdays of Francesco Petrarch, Theda Bara and Carlos Santana.  On this day in 1773 Scottish settlers arrived at Pictou, Nova Scotia, in 1858 the first fee was charged to see a baseball game and in 1969 Neil Armstrong and Edward Aldrin were the first men on the moon.  In Columbia and Tunisia it is Independence Day and in the US it is Moon Day.

I am going to bet that most people do not realize that today is Moon Day or what Moon Day is.  I have to admit that I did not know today was Moon Day.  So, as I am wont to do, I will give just a brief explanation of this little known and little observed holiday.  Moon Day commemorates the day that man first walked on the moon.  The Apollo Space Program was created to put the first man on the moon.  On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 was launched from Cape Kennedy Space Center atop a Saturn V rocket.  On July 20, 1969, the Lunar Module, nicknamed the “Eagle” touched down on the surface of the moon at Tranquility Base.  Upon landing, Commander Neil Armstrong reported, “The Eagle has landed.”  A few hours later, Commander Armstrong stepped off the Eagle’s ladder, placed one foot upon the moon’s surface and proclaimed: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”  There you have it.  That is why today is Moon Day.  Go out and do something moonish.  Eat cheese or stare at the moon or think about what a great feat was accomplished in 1969.  

When you have done that, spend some time wondering why we bothered and what we have done about it since.  I am all for exploration, but I think there should be a purpose in it.  We landed on the moon in 1969 and went back five more times between then and 1972.  During that time, men walked and drove around, planted a flag, left behind a lunar roving vehicle and then did nothing more.  Was there a plan?  Did we actually intend to do something there?  We took some rocks which, as I have said many times, resulted in all the bizarre weather we have now, but what was the plan?

I could imagine bringing back spaceship loads of moon rocks which could then be used for landscaping.  I could imagine building Disney Out of This World there.  I could see selling franchise rights for Sonic and other fast food places.  What I do not get is spending millions and millions of dollars to go there six times and not having a plan or a reason for going there.  Now they claim that they are closer than ever to finding life beyond earth.  So?  What is the plan if and when they find it?  Don’t we have enough problems with immigration?  What if the life they find doesn’t want to be found?  People claim that there is intelligent life out there and that UFO’s have been here.  If UFO’s have come to earth and they are intelligent, what does it tell us when they decide not to stay?  I am sure that if we put our minds to it we can come up with a better way to spend our money.  There must be something much closer to home that we could try to discover that would be of benefit to a larger number of people. 

Maybe we could try to discover an industrial use for dryer lint.  We have access to tons of it throughout the country.  The lint is a waste product created by drying your clothes.  Perhaps there is a way it could be made into insulation for homes.  There are several benefits to this type of thing.  One, it would help insulate homes, thereby cutting down on the energy used to heat or cool houses.  Another benefit would be that people could become lint collectors (in a positive way, not like some relatives we know) and could go house to house collecting lint and selling it to insulation manufacturers.  Plus, by removing the lint on a regular basis, there is less chance of a house burning down due to fire caused by dryer lint.

Are we to believe that it was worth all the funds expended to get us to the moon just so we could walk around and then leave some debris?  They could have given me half the money and left the debris in my parent’s back yard.  It would have been less expensive, safer and would have accomplished just about as much.  Actually, it would have accomplished more if the stuff was in the yard.  My parents could have charged people admission to come and see a lunar roving vehicle.

I think that we should require a statement of objectives from NASA before we let them go off on any of these missions again.  There should be a purpose for going to Mars, e.g. finding a place to put all the corded phones people have and no longer use, or locating a place to house all the debris we could not put on the moon.  Telling me that we are going to spend 500 million bucks to go to Venus simply because we have not been there is ridiculous.  To say we are going to look for a place to send old Tiny Tim albums is a far more acceptable reason.

This week our fact tells us that another word for volleyball is mignonette.  Now you know why we usually call it volleyball.  Somehow Beach Mignonette makes me think of tutus and leotards.  I also doubt that we would see Mignonette in the summer Olympics.

Today is Sunday, July 13, already!  I cannot believe we are already essentially half way through July.  The first clue should have been all the back to school specials that are cropping up.  On this day we remember the birthdays of Philip the Good, Emma May Wooley and Erno Rubik.  In 1568 the Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral perfected a way to bottle beer, in 1832 the source of the Mississippi River was discovered by Henry Schoolcraft and in 1960 the Democratic National Convention nominated Senator John F. Kennedy for president.  The Bon Festival starts today in Japan, it is Founder’s Day in Rhodesia and tomorrow is Family Day in South Africa.

I have had the opportunity to spend a fair amount of time on the road this past week.  We have been going down to take our younger grandson to a week-long enrichment class.  As a result of this driving, I have several observations to make.  I know I have talked about this stuff in the past and I will try not to be too repetitive.  First, let me say that I am amazed at the number of people who are on the road at 6:30 in the morning.  Frankly I am even more amazed that the lovely Elaine and I were on the road that early, but that is a story for another time.  Anyway, considering how early it was, I do not understand why everyone was in such a hurry.  There were people still flying along at 75 mph, swerving in and out of lanes, tailgating and just generally driving in an unsafe manner.  Could it be that they have some issues that need to be addressed and they were not all late for work?

Another thing I have noticed is that the volume of traffic in the morning builds as the week progresses, peaking on Wednesdays.  The parkway is an interesting study.  When we were on our way south in the morning, the traffic going north was already heavy and bumper to bumper in spots.  Southbound was moving, but moderately heavy.  Coming home in the evening the northbound side was still bumper to bumper.  Where did these people come from?  Are they left over from the morning and now combined with the people going home?  All the cars we saw in the morning were now jammed up with the people heading south, so both sides of the road were slow.  I don’t know how they do that drive every day.  When I last worked, my commute was a little over a mile each way and took me all of about seven minutes. 

I have often said that the budget problems in the state could be cleared up just by enforcing traffic laws.  I think it would be interesting to station a trooper at the end of an “Exit Only” lane.  You know what I am talking about.  A car gets in the exit lane, goes by a number of cars and then forces its way back into traffic instead of taking the exit.  The trooper could give them a choice.  They have to actually exit or they can pull over and receive a ticket.  I also think a fortune could be made ticketing people who cross solid lines on the highway to change lanes.  You do not always have to understand why the solid line is there, you just have to wait until it is dotted before you change lanes.  That should not be that difficult a concept.  Solid means do not cross, dotted means cross.

Maybe I am asking too much.  Maybe these concepts are too difficult for people to comprehend.  Based on what I see when driving, there are a number of ignorant people out there.  What I should have done instead of reluctantly retiring is followed some of these people to work. I could probably have gotten a job at their place of employment simply because I could understand rules and regulations.  That would have solved several issues.  It would have gotten me back to work, I could have avoided getting “the look” from the lovely Elaine numerous times  and it would have gotten at least one idiot off the road.

On a completely different subject, what is the deal with police.  We took my grandson to a school in town for the enrichment program he wanted to attend.  There were hundreds of kids attending classes at the same school and the traffic was heavy.  Every day when we got there we saw a couple officers standing by their cars.  That’s all, just standing.  They were not assisting with the traffic flow, they were not directing traffic so that cars could make the left turn into the school, they were not preventing cars from going the wrong way through the lot (apparently in the summer parents don’t have to follow the arrows painted on the pavement) and they were not assisting pedestrians with crossing from the lot to the school.  They were just there - every day. 

They are like the police that are always at the site of utility work.  The company doing the work places traffic cones and puts out signs warning you that they are working, so what is the purpose of the police car.  There is always a police car there, but the police officer never actually does anything.  As an example, when we came home one evening, the exit ramp was backed up.  The reason was because just as you got off the ramp onto the local street, utility work was being done.  They were getting ready to place a new utility pole. 

 

The company had put out signs and placed cones to direct traffic.  Because of the work, sometimes cars could not pass and would have to wait for equipment and workers to move.  This caused traffic to jam up and block the exit so that cars wanting to go left, away from the work, could not get through.  A policeman was there watching the debacle, but he never actually did anything to clear it up.  He just stood by his car, lights flashing and watched.  I could do that job and I wouldn’t need a fancy uniform or a gun.  I could go by in the morning, get a car, go to the site, turn on the flashing lights and then stand around.  If anyone needs me for that, let me know.

This week our fact tells us that the armadillo can be housebroken.  My question is why anyone wanted to know if it could.  Of course this opens up a whole new line of items to sell.  We can have bumper stickers that say “I (heart) my armadillo” or “My armadillo is smarter than your honor student” and other clever things.  You could buy an armadillo stick figure to go with your stick family on the back window of your car.  The possibilities are endless.  My other question is does an armadillo use a litter box or does it have to be walked?

Welcome back!  I hope everyone had a great Independence Day!  It is Sunday, July 6 and there are only 172 days until Christmas.  The lovely Elaine says she does not care if the year is half gone, it is still too early to start playing Christmas music.  Today we remember the birthdays of John Paul Jones, Merv Griffin and Jamie Wyeth.  On this day in 1483 England’s King Richard III was crowned, in 1776 the Declaration of Independence was announced on the front page of the “PA Evening Gazette” and in 1958 Alaska became the 49^th state.  In Malawi today is Independence Day/Republic Day, it is Independence Sunday in Iowa and tomorrow is Family Day in Lesotho.

There are a couple of issues that I want to discuss today.  One is that I think the TV show “Cops” should be required viewing for anyone who drives.  While watching this show, people will have the opportunity to see cars pulled over by police for various traffic violations.  They will get to see the state troopers leaning into the car, going to their cruisers to check on registration validity, issuing tickets, questioning people, etc.  Why, you ask, do I feel this is needed?  It is simple.  If people see this enough times on TV they might not feel the need to slow down and look at it while driving on the parkway.

We recently traveled to visit our friend Pat, down the shore.  Yes, we ate M&M’s while there, drank wine, stayed up late and laughed a lot.  But I digress …  

Traveling on the parkway is a chore anytime.  It is more of a hassle when you travel after 3 PM (we did).  What makes it even worse are the traffic jams that are caused by people who have to come to an almost complete stop when they see a police car on the side of the road, with lights flashing, because they have stopped a car for some sort of violation. 

These people are not slowing down because they are afraid the cop may see them speeding and pull them over, too.  They are coming to a halt to ogle a stopped car and a police car with lights flashing.  While I will admit you don’t see it as often as I think you should, you do see it often enough that it should not be a reason to cause bumper to bumper slowdowns.  The first few times I noticed it I thought it was just coincidental that we were sitting in traffic while passing a stopped car.  When traffic would go back up to speed as soon as we passed by, I realized that this was not coincidence, it was … (insert your own word to describe how incensed you are here).  So, perhaps if drivers are required to watch “Cops” they will become inured to the sight and just keep driving.

The other issue I feel deserves attention is the Weather Channel and their need to over-report everything.  For several days leading up to the arrival of Hurricane Arthur (Arthur, really?), all we heard about was the storm getting stronger and where it was going to hit and the damage that could occur and blah, blah, blah.  I thought that it was interesting that they showed us five or six models that showed the projected path of the storm.  All the experts seemed to agree, but as it turned out all the experts were wrong.  Oops!

Then you have the reporters who stand out in the wind and rain to tell us that this is a strong storm and you should stay inside while it is going on.  Well, if you should stay inside, why are they out there endangering themselves and their camera crews?  Wouldn’t it be safer to be inside a shelter, holding the door open and saying it isn’t safe to be outside?  Or you have the people standing on the beaches telling us that the winds, rain, rough surf and higher than normal tides can be a real problem.  Of course they can.  Those are some of the issues that arise with hurricanes.  It will be even more of a problem when rescuers have to go out and save the reporter dummies when the rough surf and higher than normal tides wash them out to sea.

I really think that is why most people watch – they hope to see one of the intrepid reporters hit by a wave and dragged off the beach.  Now take a minute and put yourself in, let’s say, Colorado.  You are trying to make plans for the holiday weekend and want to see what the weather and temperature will be for the evening of the 4^th.  You are hoping to go see your town’s fireworks display and you want to see what you can expect.  You put on the weather channel and there is Jim Cantore standing out in the midst of Hurricane Arthur, the previous evening as the storm went through North Carolina, telling us how bad it was.

You figure that they are just showing a recap and will get back to covering the rest of the nation shortly.  You switch over to another channel and watch an episode of “Cops.”  Some 30 minutes later, you switch back to the weather channel and see some other reporter talking about the effects of the hurricane as it moves northward.  You go to another channel and come back later to have some guy standing in the sunlight on Cape Cod telling you that it is nice there, but they expect the storm to hit them early in the evening (even though all the models showed the path of the storm going out over the ocean as it glanced off North Carolina).

 Finally, in a fit of pique, you decide to just look out the window and see what is happening.  You see your neighbor and ask him if he knows what the weather will be like.  He explains that his bunions are not bothering him and his wife has only slight twinges of pain in her left knee.  That tells him that it will remain clear, there will be no rain and the temperature will be on the cool side.  It turns out he is right, you are prepared and are able to enjoy the fireworks.  You get home in time to put the weather channel on and see Jim recapping his report from the night before about the hurricane.  You switch to another channel and settle in for an evening of “Big Bang Theory” reruns and wonder what Penny had done that makes her look so different now than she did when the series started.

This week our fact tells us that annually, Americans eat 45 million turkeys at Thanksgiving.  That is probably why we don’t usually eat turkey the rest of the year – we run out.