Spring 2005 - Bones to pick, axes to grind and just plain soap box madness... Is it the spring time that has people SO EXCITABLE? I thought springtime was a time to turn a young man’s fancy ,as fast as it would his head, when a young girl in a mini skirt passed by. Seems as though this springtime, people just have more on their minds than the newly budding trees, fauna, and the birds and bees. I say this because it appears that no one is thinking much about their fellow human counterparts. Has life somehow slipped into overdrive while I wasn’t looking?. . or does the stop watch just tick a little faster now that it is “Digital?” Is this a consequence of being fortunate enough to age? They say it is a privilege, not a right! And. . that it’s “Not For Sissys!”Could this be why my indestructible, immortal youth has begun a metamorphosis into the proverbial story of Dorian Grey, requiring a rather frequent dose of “ Ibuprophen” just to rise to the call of the morning? Have I begun “living life in the Granny Lane?” While the Mp3 Generation challenges the 18 wheelers for the Hammer Lane?. . And why is this guy zooming passed me on the Right-hand side to make this Exit before me?. . . . .Have they suddenly rewritten the Drivers Manual or is he just intent to ignore the fact that I am ahead of him with my right hand signal flashing. I just don’t get it! Maybe he’s pregnant! Call me a Cynic-Optimist, (now theres a term) but i think with a little effort we might do better for one another. I say common courtesy is no longer as common as it once may have been, it is a rarity indeed, and clearly headed for the “whatever happened to file! Do people no longer care how they speak to one another? Have our many hours on the internet created such anonymity that we don’t think we can see each other? Do these Flippy Phones mean that we only need relate to those at a distance now? Occupying the same space with many of my fellows, seems alot like standing in a crowded elevator these days. . .every occupant with a personal agenda that supersedes their immediate surroundings. I think you all may know what I am talking about here, the loud personal conversations at the next table during dinner, the Express line at the grocery store, the intolerance that we all seem to have for Time-Slipping-By! I just wish I could turn the momentum down on the meter running for all of our sakes! (Note to self: invent UNIVERSAL “CHILL BUTTON”...with only 2 settings, “ON” and “REALITY.” Have you ever noticed that the longer the line, the better people begin to relate to one another? At a certain point, when a long line starts to seem absolutely insurmountable. . .people begin speaking, manners return , and TIME begins to look like such a moot point. Take away “The meter running” and the world starts to look more like a place you’d like to be! Speaking of music, and what has prompted this dialog, I was recently rousted from a deep sleep one Sunday evening at 11:00 pm. It was upstairs, I tried knocking , I tried banging on the ceiling with a lead pipe ( never you mind why I have a lead pipe in my bedroom) all to no avail, obviously the music was too loud for even “them” to hear my drum solo. I found something decent to put on , went upstairs and kindly, meekly, and humbly ask them to turn it down. The woman at the door actually verbalized that she would DO SO... I waited. . .and waited. . .I read for a while, contemplated evil doings, various gypsy curses, and then finally laid down. When did the music finally subside? 2:30 am! I am not old fashioned, I just work for a living. If you really need to obliterate your ear drums, by all means do so, get some quality earphones and get the job done faster, I need some sleep. I prefer a higher road...the one that has something to do with a golden rule. Is it any wonder that Reality TV has become so popular? These people delight in being at each others throat, coming in first, and walkin’ away with the purse! Is this art mimicking Reality? I feel better already. . Thanks for being there for me.