Whatever Happened to Common Courtesy?

I have to ask myself why pet peeves get to me. As a young adult, I didn't even think that I had a list of pet peeves. Seriously. Apparently I believed that there were no annoyances in my life. With each passing year that once non-existent list seems to grow exponentially. I'm beginning to think that maybe I should create a few pigeon holes or categories or buckets to group them by. Maybe that would make these type of things easier to keep track of. Then again, maybe not. And - there is always the chance that it isn't even necessary.

One aspect that seems to crop up rather regularly is the topic of common courtesy. Why is it that people seem to show so little courtesy towards one another these days? I first started noticing this of the elementary school children back when I was in middle school in the mid-to-late 80s. It seems to have picked up momentum, and - like a disease - infects more and more of the population each and every year. Watch out: the lack of courtesy will get you. I can hear it working its way through town right now. It has already overtaken our neighbors (they never saw it coming).

To force myself into a moment of catharsis, I will share with you some of the annoyances I have with my neighbors. To be honest, I have not bothered them with my thoughts because I believe that it would probably only strain what little relationship we do have.

• Currently, we cannot park in our garage because a friend of their's is blocking the entrance.
• They have only plowed the yard & cleaned the sidewalks once this year (we get 200+ inches of snow each winter and the tenants must keep up the yard year round.
• The grass on the front lawn is dying because their dog repeatedly pees in the same spot (I do not blame the dog).
• They do not pickup after their dog: not in the front yard or the back yard.
• They often park their cars on the lawn in the summer time.
• The snow/ice on the sidewalk was yellowed & smelly from the urine.

Alright, now that I've enlightened you, I will take a deep breath and leave it all here. I cannot tell you how much better that feels.

My world these days

Technically, I'm involved in what has been named by some as "spring break". People tell me that this break from the normal portion of the school year generally involves: (1) traveling to a climate that is considered warm or tropical in nature, (2) throwing caution to the wind and willingly experiencing all those things that that "angel on your shoulder" tells you not to do, (3) altering your state of mind with various legal and illegal substances (note: this definition can vary depending upon where you travel to for this break), (4) taking time away from the things that you are generally forced to think about.

It's a good thing that I'm not going to be graded for appropriately participating in the wonders of "spring break" because I would be handed a big red "F" on a silver platter. Currently, I'm breaking all the spring break rules. All of them. I've already broken the rules for item #1: while I am actually traveling - to another part of the state that is equally as cold as where I am, I am not going for fun. I will be attending a conference in Kalamazoo, MI, for MASAL. Shhhh. Don't tell them, but I'm not quite finished putting my PowerPoint together yet. I'll be speaking about Independent Reading and Writing. It should be pretty interesting. I will enjoy it! I will. I just wish I had time for an actual "break". As for #2: there will be no "caution-throwing". I'm not even sure if I can lift caution up off the ground. I have a bad back you know. In relation to #3...let's just say it's pretty rare for me to alter anything these days. I'm not even sure if my mind will fit properly under the foot of a sewing machine. I may just have to check into the specifics on that. As far as #4 goes. Well...I'm still thinking about all those things I shouldn't be thinking about. And more. Yes, a break would be nice.

In addition, my mother has been having some small strokes which have affected the Vertebral Arteries. The local doctors have done very little for her, so my uncle and his wife are driving her down to Detroit so that she can talk to the doctors down there about the possibility of having a stent put into the arteries. Hopefully, she will be considered a candidate for this procedure, it will go forward safely and relieve the stress on those arteries which will help improve her vision and put an end to the mini-strokes.

With any luck, these week will end with many good pieces of news.

Anthony Bourdain and the Merry Cemetary in Romania

I won't lie to you. I'm a huge fan of Anthony Bourdain. His current season of "No Reservations" is true to form and each time I watch the show, I somehow manage to admire him more. Bourdain is honest, he tells the viewer exactly how it is; yet, he is always very respectful of the people and the culture that he is encountering. I rarely feel as though he is attempting to create a falsified television version of what he has experienced. That is rare in the over-edited, superficial, exploitation-focused world of television today.

Now, for something interesting. While it is apparent that Tony was annoyed by his traveling partner Zamir, he still managed to encounter some unusual locales while traveling within Romania. The one place that I would absolutely have to visit would be the Merry Cemetary in Sapanta. The individual crosses are very colorful, sporting hand-painted portraits of the deceased with creatively written poems describing their vices. Apparently the headstones are repainted about once every ten years by Mr. Pop. Talk about a wonderful opportunity to experience a very local form of art and learn more about the people of Romania. The experience certainly seems unlike any other! If you'd like all the details, check out this blog. Of course, if you're more interested in reading a couple of the epitaphs then this may be the spot for you.