“Oh, hon, it’s the little courtesies that make life bearable, I find, wouldn’t you agree?”
The house is chilly. Last night was in the 50’s, and it will be again tonight. Today will be in the 70’s. If I could invent the perfect summer day, it would be like today, warm during the day and cool at night for sleeping.
The sun is gloriously bright and the red umbrellas on the deck pop in the light. Yesterday afternoon I put out my oriole feeders and late in the afternoon the female oriole arrived and had some grape jelly, left then came back a couple of times. I hope next time she brings her mate. The male oriole is one of the prettiest birds around here. Today I have to fill my suet feeder and my squirrel buster feeder which keeps the grey spawns away but doesn’t deter the red spawns or the chipmunks, as both are too lightweight to trigger the feeder so I now have my own way of getting rid of them. I keep my hose on the deck, put the nozzle on jet and spray them. They run really fast when the water hits them.
Some things just drive me crazy. I’ll start with people who don’t use their blinkers and people who leave their blinkers on the whole time. When the non-blinker turns onto the street where I had been waiting, I throw my arms up in frustration. Why did the driver think I was sitting there? Is there a parade coming? The constant click click click of the blinker should be a hint, but it isn’t. The car passes street after street and doesn’t turn and the blinker blinks. People who park and take up one and half spaces, especially this time of year, make me want to leave a nasty note on the windshield. Drivers ignoring one way signs is another pet peeve of mine. The place where I shop has a one way in and a one way out. Many drivers decide they are only going one way, the arrows notwithstanding. I got yelled at the other day for being in the middle of the road. The car with the yelling driver was going the wrong way. I rolled down my window and told the guy the street was one way, not his one way but mine. He still yelled.
It is usually quite difficult to merge across two lanes on busy streets here during the summer. A car can sit for a long while hoping for a break in traffic. A lot of cars don’t stop to let the waiting car out. I don’t get it. Would that minute it takes to let the car out cause them to miss a plane, a wedding or some other huge event? When a driver lets me out, I always wave and say thank you acknowledging their kindness. I let cars out often. Many wave and many ignore me. The other day I let a woman out into heavy traffic which would have kept her waiting a while. She didn’t acknowledge me. I said you’re welcome out my window. She heard me and gave me a look which could wither flowers. I didn’t get it. Being courteous is simple and doesn’t take a whole lot of effort. I smiled at her and drove away.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: bad drivers, bird feeders, blinkers, hose and nozzle, lovely days, orioles, simple courtesy, Suet
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
June 27, 2014 at 11:11 am
I’ve always wondered if they couldn’t afford to buy blinkers too when they bought the car 🙂 🙂 I just can’t understand how difficult it is to start them before turning? Some start them slightly after they start to turn and that makes me even more angry!!
And yes, hoiw can they ignore that clicking sound?? Especially when they drive on a highway and has nowhere to turn? I always wave my hand if someone makes it easier fior me to pass them and I always makes it easier for someone to pass me and I’ve realised a thing, only people with older car thanks when I let them pass? I guess the burdon of buying a new car is so heavy that they don’t even have the energy to lift their hand as a thank You 🙂
Sunshine, heavy showers and thunder here today and yesterday, that’s why I didn’t come here last evening. Congratulations, Your team is still in the world cup 🙂 But at the same time I feel sorry for Ghana, theyb were great in yesterdays game!
Have a great day!
Christer.
June 27, 2014 at 11:19 am
Christer,
That too drives me crazy. As they are turning, their blinkers come on. Yikes!
I think they are just ignorant of simple courtesies or maybe they felt that it was owed to them somehow. I always make it a point to say thanks.
Thanks on the World Cup. Nobody thought the USA would survive that grouping. Ghana was playing without two of their best who had been sent home. I think not beating the US was such a surprise that Ghana knew they would probably not be one for the two to go on.
Have a wonderful evening!
June 27, 2014 at 12:29 pm
Another crazy-making behavior that has appeared here in San Francisco: a motorist will allow a pedestrian to pass but creep forward into the intersection and block the box in the process. I try to laugh these things off but that one makes my blood boil every time.
June 27, 2014 at 2:52 pm
Rowen,
That I haven’t seen here. Maybe they do it in Boston, but I haven’t been to the city in a long while. Do you have the law where a pedestrian in the crosswalk has the right of way and every car has to stop?
June 27, 2014 at 12:29 pm
I am sometimes mortified to discover that my blinkers are still going when (apparently) my turn wasn’t sharp enough to stop the blinking. Unlike what you’ve described, the sound that accompanies my blinkers is really quite muted and if there’s a lot of traffic or there’s music playing, I often don’t notice the blink, blink, blink is still going on. I know I’d be mad at me if I were behind me! And I don’t know why you’re being critical of drivers who, for example, turn left when there’s a no left turn sign. Don’t you know those signs don’t apply to THEM? Same for speed, staying in assigned lanes, turn signals, parking spaces, yield signs and sudden stops. The road belongs to them and them alone. Be careful not to run over the litter they throw out their windows!
As annoying as all that is, don’t get me started on my pet driving peeve… talking and texting on the phone. There’s nothing safer, is there?
June 27, 2014 at 2:58 pm
im6,
That would be me behind you making obscene gestures.
Add gawkers to your mix. Here in tourist land the cars slow down to look at something they find interesting. They’ll take a look then resume speed until the next thing catches their eyes. I want my car to be equipped with a cow catcher.
I hate TV when drivers chat with their passengers for the longest time and never bother to look at the road.
June 27, 2014 at 3:15 pm
Oh, Kat, you’ve hit on another pet peeve of mine. Yak, yak, yak and they never look at the road. Or sometimes a couple has a nice L… O… N… G kiss. And live! There has been a time or two when the not-looking driver in a movie actually gets in an accident. BAM! They’re either dead or good as dead. I’ve grown to anticipate that outcome. After all, that’s what they get (poor passengers, but they should have said something!).
I hear you honking and making those obscene gestures behind me. I was hoping you wouldn’t notice.
June 27, 2014 at 3:52 pm
im6,
Those gestures and that honking keep me sane. I feel as if I have a little control over that driver and his God-awful blinker.
I haven’t ever seen them in an accident, but I think I might just cheer as they deserved it. I can’t turn my head for a minute without needing to stop on a dime or hit the car stopped in front of me.
June 27, 2014 at 10:08 pm
Hi Kat,
When I moved my horse to Ipswich I quickly learned that people there drove as if there were only 6 vehicles in town; their own car and 5 tractors that were sitting in fields. No one used blinkers. No one stopped to look before turning onto a new road. They’d look to the right while rolling out into the street to block anything coming from the left. They didn’t even look to see what was going to hit them first. It was amazing.
My current car has an alarm on the blinkers that will sound if the blinker stays on for more than 5 minutes. It also goes off if the blinker bulb has burnt out. This encourages you to get it fixed because having to remember to hit the directional every few minutes to avoid the horrible alarm is really a PITA.
This weather is perfect. I wish it would remain for a while.
Enjoy the day.
June 27, 2014 at 10:19 pm
Hi Caryn,
I believe that the ownership of roads is a coastal thing. When summer vacationers come, they hog the roads and the stores, and we get defensive. I see it here all the time.
I never heard of that blinker alarm before this. I like that it tells you the blinker light is out otherwise you don’t know though I do check it by getting in and out of the car.
The night is chilly so I have the downstairs windows closed. Upstairs is still warm. I loved being on the deck today.
Have a great day tomorrow.
June 29, 2014 at 10:12 am
You wouldn’t like the blinker alarm, if you had one. It scares the daylights out of me when it goes off while I’m driving and then it irritates me for the next however many minutes it takes to get somewhere that I can fix it.
June 29, 2014 at 10:22 am
Caryn,
You are probably right. Those car horns triggered as an alarm drive me crazy. Having one in my car would put me over the edge.