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?