A time to forgive, not to be a jerk
C
hristmas is just over two weeks away and I have a suggestion for a simple but important gift that will only cost you a moment or two to reflect on your actions, but will be greatly received. It’s called good manners. Too many people seem to be in such a rush while on the road when, realistically, unless you are heading to the Hart, everything is about 10 minutes away, plus a minute or two during rush hour.
I see too many folks flipping the bird on a regular basic. I even got it today. It wasn’t pleasant.
Patience and good manners go together. We live in PG and have some of the nicest folks on this planet but maybe it’s the season that makes many cranky and downright nasty.
It’s Christmas time. Time to smile and feel blessed for having such a good year. Even if the other person has made a mistake, or you think they have, this is the season for forgiveness.
Some of our city workers take a lot of disrespect from folks when they are only doing their job. Perfect examples are the parking control officers.
I know, few of us are thrilled with the current parking rule, especially downtown, but the laws are the laws. The folks out in the street didn’t write them but are paid to enforce them.
When a police officer asks you to please move because you are parked in a restricted area, you immediately move.
Why do some insist on arguing with bylaw officers? If you try to stop for a quick moment and they ask you to move right away, it is for an important reason especially if it is in an emergency zone, such as parking too close to a fire hydrant, a constant problem in our neighbourhood, especially when the hydrant is at a corner and the truck obstructs the vision of oncoming traffic.
If you think you know the distance you must stay away from a variety of common features, do a little test. Write it down before you read the next sentence.
No parking within five metres of a fire hydrant. No parking within six metres of: the approach side of a crosswalk, the approach to a flashing beacon, stop sign, or traffic control signal; the entrance or exit of a hotel, theatre, public meeting place, dance hall, fire hall, or playground in a rural area.
Be honest, how did you do?
The men and women working in these jobs are someone’s mother, sisters, brothers. I certainly wouldn’t want a member of my family being treated rudely.
When you decide, for whatever stupid reason, to partially park your car on the sidewalk because your pick up is a bit wider as is the one on the other side of the street, the solution is to park further down the road. A mom with her baby carriage must head into the street to go around your car. And then there is the wheelchair-bound person. Because you are driving a car you assume freedom all over? I think not.
Then we have the cases of the limited deserved accolades for a job well done.
I ran into a lady today who was talking about what a wonderful show Bonnie Leach and Excalibur put on last weekend.
I suggest a phone call to the studio would be a nice touch if you attended and feel the same way. We are always in a rush to criticize when something isn’t to our liking, but it takes much longer to say thank you, if it is said at all.
So, the next time you are in a long line at the grocery store or waiting in the gas line or waiting while the plow does its job and your stress level is increasing, relax, count your blessings and think what is it in your personality that brings that side of you forward.
When you decide, for whatever stupid reason, to partially park your car on the sidewalk because your pick up is a bit wider as is the one on the other side of the street, the solution is to park further down the road. A mom with her baby carriage must head into the street to go around your car.