Holiday hell in a handbasket
Well look here, a fella goes away for a few days to visit kin for some turkey and dressing and long winded catching up and I come back to all sorts of hullabaloo in the neighborhood. Not to mention some tales of holiday headaches.
First off, the wench that hit the pedestrian over near the elementary school. While this here's a sad story for the guy and his family, it really is a surprise it hasn't happened sooner. The lack of sidewalks in Tampa, particularly Seminole Heights, makes it a pretty scary place to walk. On top of that you throw in people speeding down residential streets and yacking on their cellphones and its just a matter of time. I hope the man pulls through, but I guess it ain't looking too good for him. Why in hell is everyone in such a damn hurry to speed through streets that are barely wide enough for two cars and kids play? The standard the city keeps for traffic calming is asinine. Speed humps can't be that expensive.
Ya got bikes being stolen. No surprise there with Hillsborough High so close and all the riffraff that walk down to the projects near Lake and Central.
Now on to my holiday stuff. What is it with people who think checking into a hotel is carte blanche for throwing out their manners? We stayed at a pretty upscale hotel for the past week and the place had kids running amok. The exercise room had a half dozen of the little monkeys in it almost the whole time. Hows a fella supposed to get his cardio workout? And up and down the stairs sheesh, in my day my pappy woulda tanned my hide if I had even once let a door slam in a motel. Where's the consideration?
This holiday, the topic of charities came up a few times. Old Grumpy has a pretty generous heart, but I gotta tell you. It's so hard to not be suspicious when it comes to giving to charities. An acquaintance told us of a coworker who bragged last Christmas that his kids were signed up with 4 different organizations and received all sorts of stuff. The fella wasn't poor, but was raking it in by bilking the system. I like to think there's a extra special place in Hell for assholes like that, but you just gotta feel like there's a whole lot of that going on.
Well, it's good to be back. Happy holidays.
First off, the wench that hit the pedestrian over near the elementary school. While this here's a sad story for the guy and his family, it really is a surprise it hasn't happened sooner. The lack of sidewalks in Tampa, particularly Seminole Heights, makes it a pretty scary place to walk. On top of that you throw in people speeding down residential streets and yacking on their cellphones and its just a matter of time. I hope the man pulls through, but I guess it ain't looking too good for him. Why in hell is everyone in such a damn hurry to speed through streets that are barely wide enough for two cars and kids play? The standard the city keeps for traffic calming is asinine. Speed humps can't be that expensive.
Ya got bikes being stolen. No surprise there with Hillsborough High so close and all the riffraff that walk down to the projects near Lake and Central.
Now on to my holiday stuff. What is it with people who think checking into a hotel is carte blanche for throwing out their manners? We stayed at a pretty upscale hotel for the past week and the place had kids running amok. The exercise room had a half dozen of the little monkeys in it almost the whole time. Hows a fella supposed to get his cardio workout? And up and down the stairs sheesh, in my day my pappy woulda tanned my hide if I had even once let a door slam in a motel. Where's the consideration?
This holiday, the topic of charities came up a few times. Old Grumpy has a pretty generous heart, but I gotta tell you. It's so hard to not be suspicious when it comes to giving to charities. An acquaintance told us of a coworker who bragged last Christmas that his kids were signed up with 4 different organizations and received all sorts of stuff. The fella wasn't poor, but was raking it in by bilking the system. I like to think there's a extra special place in Hell for assholes like that, but you just gotta feel like there's a whole lot of that going on.
Well, it's good to be back. Happy holidays.
posted by Grumpy at 12/01/2006 12:32:00 PM
4 Comments:
Welcome back Grumpy. Regarding giving to charities, to me its like this: if its a cause that you believe in, you just have to give and not worry about who the beneficiary will end up being. Lord only knows whether someone "needy" will get it or not, but you can't fret over it. The only other thing you can do is to get personally involved and then dole it out to whoever you think really needs it. Now listen to this story: My great uncle Karl was an alcoholic. He lived with some old bag who rang the bell for the Salvation Army. When she went to sleep at night, he would rob most of the money from the kettle and go on a bender! I always think of that, and as a result, usually don't toss anything in the kettle. Regarding the kids in the hotel: Like you, I could never have gotten away with that kind of behavior. I really think that most parents today seize any opportunity to let their kids run wild in order to give themselves a break from them. I say, if you didn't want the responsibilities of being a parent, then you should not have had kids!
I know what youre saying, Mrs Grumpy tells me all the time that we just have to have faith our gifts are used properly, and that the spirit of giving is our reward, but it's still nice to know that you're helping someone who truly needs it and not just some worthless scumbag leech sucking off the system. As for the bell ringers, I don't give to them on principal, because when I see them I get the picture of all those "will work for food" yahoos standing there, kinda like that Verizon commercial but instead of the Network, you see a bunch of bums standing behind the kettle. I know they do a lot more than the homeless work, but I can't help but think of the bell ringing as just a more organized form of panhandling. As for the kids, bah humbug and wish they'd all get a lump of coal. Not all kids, but the hellions that overran the hotel with us, and the parents a swift kick in the pants to shock some sense of responsibility back into them.
Hi Grumpy!
I could not agree more with you and luckytop. If people do not or will not control their kids... don't have any!!! or go stay at a kiddie place. My parents would never have allowed us to act like brats in public. neither would any of my friends' parents'. It just does not seem like there is any discipline anymore. Like you, I don't feel this way about ALL children. i have met some well behaved ones.... but not often.
thanks for your blog and telling it like iti is.
What worries me most is that it seems most times to me to be gettin' worse instead of better. Misbehavein' kids grow into at best less-responsible parents who then pass those bad ideals onto their kids and so-on. That and it seems the less responsible folks are the more kids they're havin'. When my grandkids grow up they're gonna have deal with these future adults. Lord help 'em.
Post a Comment
<< Home