Daily Dose of Common Sense

I recently began driving again after a sixteen year car-free existence. I have one question: What happened to the friendly “thanks a lot!” driver wave? No one seems to bother anymore. If another driver does me a solid by letting me in, I give a friendly wave to show appreciation. Some days, I feel as if I’m the only one.

This also applies to pedestrians, cyclists, roller bladers, people on scooters…really everyone. But, there seems to be something about being in a car where people feel they can be rude without repercussion. It’s no wonder there are so many incidents of road rage.

Come on, drivers. Just remember to be polite and people won’t key your car later.

Photo courtesy of Flickr: tedkerwin

People pushing strollers get a pretty bad rap as far as pedestrians are concerned. I’ve heard occasional complaints from friends who grouse about the size of strollers and/or the speed at which they travel. I’m a mom with two small kids, and, although I always try to be polite in transit, I’ve received the occasional dirty look from someone while out pushing my kids. It’s time for the madness to end. We need to give strollers–and the people pushing them–a break. Here’s why:

1. We’re late, we’re late, for a very important…EVERYTHING.
I hate being late. It’s rude. But, since having kids, I usually run about ten or fifteen minutes late for everything. This isn’t for a lack of trying to get out of the house on time. Kids have a way of making sure you can’t find the sippy cup, snacks, keys, cell phone, or wallet when it’s time to leave. Or, one child suddenly needs a diaper change. So, people out pushing kids in strollers are generally running late and in a hurry. Which leads to….

2. Move quickly or get out of the way.
If you’re walking slowly, we need to maneuver around you. We need you to walk on the right-hand side of the sidewalk–not the middle. We’ll try to be polite about it, but we don’t always have patience for slowpokes who won’t move over. And, if you’re rocking out to your iPod with headphones, we will be annoyed that you didn’t hear us say, “Excuse me.” You know who you are, you dawdlers without kids in tow and not a care in the world. You might be out for a leisurely stroll by yourself or with a friend. But, we’re not bitter (usually). We’re just late. So, please let us pass without comment.

3. We’re pushing a heavy load.
A stroller generally weighs around 20 lbs. Add to that the weight of the kid(s), and you’ve got quite a torpedo. My kids are 40 lbs and 22 lbs, while my stroller weighs around 25 lbs. So, that’s close to 90 lbs I’m pushing around. Yes, I realize momentum and gravity do some of the work, but it’s still not easy to stop on a dime or get through doorways. We’ll do our best to accommodate other pedestrians, but sometimes it’s like steering a battleship.

4. We’re so tired.
Most parents don’t get a lot of sleep. We’re sleep-deprived and can be cranky on occasion. Sometimes, this perpetual tiredness can impair our judgement or make us lose our patience too quickly. Perhaps we aren’t as nice or courteous as we should be. We’re sorry. When we’re well-rested, we promise we’re a LOT nicer.

I’m not saying there aren’t obnoxious stroller-wielding parents and caretakers out there. I have seen my fair share. Most of us, however, do try to be courteous and respectful. We don’t want to run over people or play chicken with pedestrians. We just need to get where we’re going before our kids go into full meltdown mode. So, the next time you feel anger building toward some stroller-pushing parent, feel some compassion for them instead.

Photo courtesy of Flickr: Payton Chung

If you’re a reader of this blog, you already know how we feel about cigarette butts.

So, imagine how happy I was today to pass a Japanese tourist discretely smoking and using this product. It’s a tiny portable ashtray with extinguisher. Genius!

Is it any wonder why the Japanese were just named the world’s best tourists?

Last week, a 15-year old girl fell into a manhole in Staten Island because she wasn’t watching where she was going. Instead of paying attention, she was texting on a cell phone.

Now, the girl wasn’t seriously hurt and just came out scraped, smelly, and minus one shoe. (Since she fell when workers were still putting out orange caution cones, her family plans to sue the city anyway.) But, this brings to light again the danger of texting while doing, well, pretty much anything else.

We’ve all read in the past few years that texting while driving can be a dangerous combination. (In fact, the folks at Car and Driver have just determined that it’s worse than drinking and driving.) But walking and texting, which is clearly a safety issue for pedestrians, doesn’t get quite as much attention.

It should. If you’re texting, you’re looking down at your phone and not watching the roads, sidewalks, or other people around you. You’re not using your peripheral vision to warn against cars, muggers, dog poop, bicycles, or anything else that may be nearby. In London, one street added cushions to its lampposts because texting pedestrians were repeatedly being injured. (We can only hope one of these pre-cushion lamppost crashes is on YouTube.) Can you imagine your tax dollars spent on baby proofing the sidewalks because someone can’t wait to send that extra “LOL”?

Yes, we’re all addicted to our iPhones, BlackBerrys, and cell phones. But, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a pedestrian dies in the U.S. every 110 minutes. Refrain from texting while you’re walking and that will increase your odds of staying safe.

[Thanks Gizmodo!]

We recently learned that Americans are still getting fatter. Twenty-three states reported an increase of obese adults over one year ago. Not one state reported a decrease in its obesity rate.

According to body mass index (BMI) statistics, two-thirds of Americans are either obese or overweight. And, you know who you are. Yes, the BMI system isn’t perfect. In fact, many researchers believe a good old-fashioned tape measure around the middle section gives a better indication of health. Regardless, you know if you fall into the category of Americans who need to lose weight. It’s rarely a mystery if you’re heavier than you should be.

Just remember, it’s the calories that count. Some restaurant chains now list calories on their menus, which should go a long way to helping consumers make informed choices. Here’s a great quiz to learn about the calorie counts of some of our (well, my) favorite foods. Who knew raisins had so many calories?!

Do you know the health risks associated with being overweight? It’s a long, scary list. And, the obesity epidemic is one reason for our ballooning health care costs. As the weight problem worsens, so grows the number of people experiencing these side effects. And, our kids learn by example. Is that the lesson you want to pass down to the next generation?

The key to losing weight is being informed about food and being motivated to change your lifestyle. Start small, but start somewhere. Push away from the table and start walking, America.

You’ve seen them. Big globules of spit on the street or sidewalk. Loogies just waiting there for you to step or drop something in. And worse than seeing a pile of spit is listening to someone expectorate one. Starting deep in his (or, less likely, her) throat, he coughs, sputters, and hocks until a giant phlegm ball comes out. Then, it’s deposited somewhere nearby for all to see.

Is this really how far we’ve come as a society? We can put a man on the moon, obsessively Twitter and elect a black president, but we can’t stop ourselves from spitting in public?

Many diseases can be transmitted through saliva and some of them can live for hours outside the body. In previous centuries and in more recent years, outbreaks of TB and SARS respectively led to prominent “don’t spit in public” campaigns. But not even SARS was able to curb the Chinese practice of spitting. It wasn’t until the Beijing Olympics that the government waged a full-on campaign against what many there consider an accepted activity. Perhaps we need a little more public awareness here in the states, as well.

The recent Swine Flu outbreak should be a wake up call to all of us–spitters and non-spitters. To the spitters: just stop it. It’s gross and we don’t care WHY you’re doing it. Invest in a handkerchief or carry tissues. Non-spitters: speak out! Admonish and embarrass the spitters until they are shamed into keeping their phlegm to themselves. It should not be acceptable social behavior.

Yes, we can stop public spitting.

In case you missed any Daily Doses of Common Sense this week, here’s a recap.

From Monday, is Facebook making the summer class reunion a thing of the past?

On Tuesday, are you as tired of those long cell phone voice instructions as we are?

Wednesday looked at the nickel-and-diming of airline passengers. $7 for a pillow?!!

Thursday’s post proposed skipping soda in restaurants for a year to fund a family vacation.

On Friday, we discussed the outrageousness of the cineplex concession stand and shared the shame that we spent $4.50 on a small soda.

From Saturday, we had some advice for the sidewalk hogs of the world.

Here’s a tip for folks walking in a large group together: you don’t own the sidewalk, so you need to make way for other pedestrians. It sounds silly to write it (and probably read it) because it’s so obvious, but you would be surprised how many sidewalk hogs are out there. You’ve seen them. A group walk abreast of one another and fan out across the public sidewalk, oblivious to the rest of us trying to get around them. It’s like a game of chicken on foot. To be polite, they should switch to single file or at least double file in the crowd. Otherwise, someone is forced off the curb just to make way for the gang who won’t separate. This act of common courtesy applies to more than city sidewalks; it also includes malls, boardwalks, zoos, parks…any place where large amounts of people are moving.

A good rule of thumb to use in judging whether this applies to your group or not is the “pack” rule. If you are more than two people, you are a pack. Therefore, it is your responsibility to make room for others to travel around you. So, change to single file until traffic passes. If you don’t, you’re likely to get shoulder bumps from other angry pedestrians.