I have to say, despite the jokes we like to make about the French, that my experiences of them have been very positive. This little story is a good example;
I took a road trip with a few friends to Le Mans in 1995. We had a good collection of cars on the trip all with British plates, including my Renault Alpine GTA V6. As could be expected really my Renault took the oportunity to split a water hose and dump the entire contents of it's cooling system on the road about a mile from the circuit. Almost as soon as I stopped an lifted the engine cover there was a Frenchman stopped next to me with the window down asking if I needed any help. After I tried to explain the problem to him in what was probably very bad French, he opened up the back of his car and took out all the bottled water he had just been to buy from the supermarket and asked if I wanted to use it in the car. I did offer to pay him for it but he just waved it off and said no trouble. Needless to say the water fell out the bottom as quick as I could pour it in the top, but that guy was so helpful. Maybe it was the Englishman driving a French car that helped with the generosity, but I was thoroughly impressed.
Incidentally, I ended up having to take half of my engine apart in Le Mans campground to replace one stupid little water hose. Fortunately in the town of Le Mans is a very large Renault dealer - it would probably have taken a week to get that part back home!

Over the years I've written a number of articles about the local sheriff's office - as a result, I've become friends with several of the brass and the deputies. A few years ago, I was asked to cover the death of a deputy killed in the line of duty - the first such death in 25 years. For the procession to the cemetery, I rode in a patrol car - the route included several miles on the northbound lanes of a freeway (well outside of the city) - there were several hundred patrol cars involved from all over the southeast - they closed the northbound lanes but only briefly because they moved fairly quickly.

The southbound lanes, however, remained open and no one seemed to pay attention despite the fact that there were a couple hundred patrol cars all flashing their lights - along with a hearse. That was probably to be expected, I guess.

And then I saw one guy...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1187092789.jpg

It's not much of a shot but it was an incredible moment. Apparently, there aren't many of him left...

In Wichita they have a police escort that blocks intersections, stops traffic, etc. All traffic stops until the procession passes.

Well, for me, one of the ULTIMATE forms of rudeness today is the perfectly 'fit' individual (male or female) that is sooooo self indulged, that they park in Handicapped spots to save a few steps.

As a veteran I have friends who lost limbs and ARE handicapped. Those parking zones are for THEM (and other disabled persons) ...not some unconscious, all-about-me, 'Im in such a hurry', dimwit.

If I see a car parked in one, without tags or signs (in MO. either your license plates are marked or you are issued a tag to hang from your inside mirror) and if I have the time, I will sometimes wait and confront the person if they are not older and appear perfectly healthy.

I try to catch them right at their car door usually with, "I see you are handicapped? You really should display your tag."

Usually no verbal response or just a stupid or embarrassed look from them. If they make no excuse I then say, "You don't look physically handicapped, must be mental"...and I walk on.

These lazy F**KS really piss me off. I hope someday THEY ARE handicapped.

Wow :(

I was in Artesia New Mexico many years ago. I was driving down the main highway and every car in front of me pulled over and stopped. I figured something was going on and slowed to a near stop. I asked my grandmother what was going on (she lives there) and she said that there is a funeral procession comning down the other side of the divided highway.
I sad, so what?
She said that's what people do around here, it's called respect.
I had a hard time understanding it, seemed so silly to me at the time.

Not sure why, but deaf people get handicapped stickers too. Perhaps you're wasting your time with the insults.

What?

Of course everyone understands the mute eloquence of an upturned middle finger....

Hummm ...not sure about how deaf (gee, I cant hear...should I be driving a car...sirens, horns...etc.) relates in Canada?

If one didn't have heart trouble, a missing leg, wasn't wheel chair bound, etc., and only had a hearing deficit, I would encourage them to WALK a ways ...and save the spot for someone who was truly handicapped.

Deaf = handicapped parking? Sorry but NO.

So, you woud propose degrees of handicapped-ness?
A physician's recommendation is required for approval of handicapped, (differently-abled) tags. Seems like they know if a tag is warranted.

We have a generation of "praise junkies", according to sociologists that think the world revolves around them and they are owed things rather than being considerate. They think they are "special". My take is we are all like blades of grass or a southwestern stone front yard. We are all unique (no two alike) but none of us are special.

We owe each other at least basic respect and consideration.

I couldn't agree more. Pisses me off. The other day leaving a Jamba Juice, I held the door open for an attractive women as I was leaving. You could tell she thought she was the best thing since sliced bread and that holding the door open for her was my job. She didn't say a word, didn't smile, nothing. I asked my partner if she said thank you and he said nope. Well because our bikes were parked right outside the door, I waited for her to leave and told her "I was always taught that when someone holds the door open for you, the correct response is thank you". She looked at me with this stupid look on her face and said "OK" She really didn't get it.

Now I need to confess my ignorance.

I thought it was odd that three cars in front of me all broke down at the same time and pulled over onto the side of the freeway the other weekend.

Do I feel more stupid than normal now!

Mo, I was on crutches for 6 months. I rarely saw fit people in handicapped spots. Know what I saw? Hogs whose only handicap was the inability to push themselves away from the table. There are more handicapped spots than there are (true) handicapped people. If they'd make the hogs park at the end of the lot maybe they'd loose a pound & spots would be plentiful.

Sammy, that stopping of traffic for funerals is a small town thing. As best I can tell it violates traffic laws. Being uninitiated in the custom, once I almost hit a guy who stopped in the middle of the road, out of the blue. So here I sit blowing the horn, & then I see the funeral procession on the other side of the street. Ooops, sorry. I am still not a fan of the custom.

Now I'm worried I'm going to get confused and pull off to the side of the road every time a disabled guy holds the door open for a deaf person!

Good for you. I've started holding doors for anyone behind me, (man/woman/child/thug/whatever), if they are even close. It eliminates the whole awkward "should I or shouldn't I have" deal and I've been pleasantly surprised by (most of) the response. You have to almost feel sorry for someone like that woman who is so insecure or unsophisticated not to know how to handle an everyday situation. "Thank you" is such a one-size-fits-all solution. :cool:

....and ripped one (e.g. a big ole fart) on your way out!:D

Moses, you're my hero - good work

Considering that our processions have police escorts, who stop traffic with lights and sirens, I doubt there are any laws being broken. I think the dead person is worse off than me, even if I am late to work.

That's so true, but rudeness does... and Moses did good :)! Maybe it's a "southern thang", but I was brought up so that "yes sir/m'am" (especially to elders), holding doors, vacating a seat for someone, etc. was just what you did. Yep, a funeral in the south will stop traffic in both directions (unless you live in a city full of transplants:))...

I can also become very obnoxious... I have a unique way of playing to a persons prejudices..just ask our PWD if that is true.

It does not cost extra to be nice. I go out of my way to acknowledge good manners and politeness. I tend to go out of my way to do the same for rude folks. I wrote a letter to the parents of a kid who came into the office not too long ago. 10 yo boy, shook my hand and introduced himself, said thank and shook it again when he left. His parents, replied, and enclosed a thank you note for the letter from the kid. They have been telling him that people notice it when young man comports himself as a gentleman would, they were glad to have written evidence I think.

It is getting worse out there I think.

Definitely getting worse :(.

Many times at a shopping centre I see people park in handicapped spots who are clearly not...or park in spots reserved for "seniors". I NEVER miss the opportunity to comment to these people that they really should seek the appropriate parking spot. I have been thanked on several occasions by "seniors" in particular for taking an interest. Same goes for the "parents with prams" spots...having been a parent struggling with babies and prams and toddlers all at once (aaarrrggghh!) I know the value of these parking spots and it thoroughly p!sses me off when the spots are taken by those who clearly have no kids...lazy buggers don't want to walk a few extra feet...

I also hold doors open for people behind me and if nothing is said will usually say "a thankyou would be nice"...red faces are often what I get in return.

Our kids get nothing without a "please". You want the salt or pepper passed at dinner, better say "please" or I am mysteriously deaf...

A really nice thing happened a couple of days ago though - I went to pick the kids up from school and couldn't find Charlotte. Whilst walking through the school looking for her, one of her classmates (age 10) said hello to me ..."hello Mrs Jacobson, how are you?"... the conversation continued for a few moments with Chelsea being as polite as she had started. All the children know me by my first name, but Chelsea chose to formally address me. It doesn't happen very often these days and I was suitably impressed by this young lady :).

Mea Culpa. I confess. I park in the 'Contractors Only' spot at Home Depot. (I do have a contractors card). (Somewhere).

It is getting worse out there I think.[/QUOTE]

I've given this some thought, and I think the proper statement is that FOR THIS CYCLE of humanity, it is getting worse, but I have to think that throughout civilization, this up and down degeneration and regeneration of all things civil, including but not limited to, manners, education, just plain respect is just like the tides. For me, born in the fifties in a small western city (really a town), yes, civility is on the ebb tide. But I wonder what it was like in, say, 1850 San Francisco, where you had every manner of education, breeding, way of life, all coming together to chase a Gold Rush. Bet it was worse than any Midwestern mall-based city today - or even a place like inner city Detroit?.

Or take London in the 1400's - 1500's where the difference in all aspects of life between the haves and the have-nots was exponentially greater than it is today? A gentleman or a lady from that era might find our lower middle class enlightened and well-adjusted. As a middle class citizen of 2007, would I be in the same awe of the ways of the London upper class (caste) as the middle class of that era probably were, (even if they were too stubborn to admit it)? I seriously doubt it.

I believe that everyone is conservative to a degree, no matter how they frame their politics, and we all want things to be the way they were during our own personal golden era. Unfortunately, this ain't gonna happen, especially in this enlightened time where the self is more important than the group, and infotainment is passed off as "news"

Just the ramblings of a lunatic. Attach no worth to these words, they are my personal views. They may change tomorrow. I just like the topic, and have for a long time. Thanks for the thread.

PS _ love the picture of Michael Douglas. Loved the first part of that movie. Totally identified with the character. Later in the movie, not so much.:)

I just got back from some vacation time in North Idaho, where I was raised. I now live in metropolital Seattle. Life is slower in North Idaho, so people are far less impatient. That's nice. And everyone waves. At everyone. You just lift your hand or just your finger from the steering wheel. Everyone does it.

during this vacation, I caught up with some college buddies. Nice guys. Two of them were raised in that same area. Cliff reported that his kid's coach asked him whether his kid is being a smartass when he calls the coach "Sir." He always calls the coach "Sir." Cliff replied that no, his kid is not being a smartass. He is using one of the three options he was taught at home. The three options are "Mr. So-And-So," "Coach" or "Sir." Then later, when we were discussing the experiences of our youth, I mentioned there was basically one mercantile store in town. Davis And Link. The owner/proprietor's name was Matt Maschinski. He always told me to call him "Matt." I called him "Mr. Maschinski." I couldn't just call him "Matt," no matter how hard he tried.

That is the way I was raised and the way my children are being raised. It is the little things that matter.

My kids have free reign with Dad to argue and state their case...and they are very well equipped to do so: Being polite with others is off the discussion matrix. They don't seem to mind.:cool:

I was in a tall building and took the elevator.....I was alone with a troll....he passes gas and I about died.

Fortunately, my floor arrived quickly and as I walked out I ran my finger down the whole bank of numbers.....

I can verify this from my visit this summer. Just wonderful kids and a great family. :)

Too true. But I seem to accept this in the proper perspective these days.

In Texas, we have Blue handicapp license plates/tags for Physical disabilities.

Then they have red tags for "Other than Physical" disabilities.

That really really makes me wonder.

I am surprised you didn't give him the regular Mike Z salute.

QUOTE: "I rarely saw fit people in handicapped spots. Know what I saw? Hogs whose only handicap was the inability to push themselves away from the table."
____________________

My meaning of 'fit' is able bodied/able to walk a few more steps. (IE: does deaf = handicapped ...in terms of parking, you MUST be kidding)

Example: Occasionally I encounter a man about my age (late 50's) at our local post office. He apparently has little/no use of his legs. Arrives (alone) in a conversion van. Unstraps his seat belt/harness, maneuvers between the front seats to his chair in the back. Side van door opens and lowers and his wheel chairs comes out on a lever system. He wheels off the ramp, closes the door (electrically) and wheels himself into the Post Office. Always smiling, cheerful, pleasant attitude. On leaving, same process in reverse, probably takes 2-3 minutes each way, painful yet sort of elegant (his rehearsed/fluid movements) to watch.

My whole point is; THIS is who Handicapped Parking spots are for! Not some self-absorbed idiot that thinks his/her time is more precious than anyone else's.

I agree with the majority of people in handicap spots being fat-assed welfare cases. This sort of stuff seems to attract that type, that feel society owes them something. Like more candy.:D Since when is fat and lazy a legit handicap?

What really cracks me up: fat people in the electric powered carts in Wal Mart. Does it not dawn on people that walking=exercise=weight loss?

Thankfully down here it's not quite the same (yet)...I haven't seen any "I'm so fat I can't walk" cases with handicapped stickers. But you can bet it's coming :(.

What I DO see is the elderly couple, husband pushing wheelchair looking almost as frail as his wife; struggling to do their shopping etc. And those SOBs who park in the handicapped spots couldn't give a toss if Mr and Mrs have to use narrower parking spots whereby it's almost impossible to wheel the chair up to the car and open the door fully enough in order to get in.

Australia is becoming a FAT nation - the stats are frightening. Hell, walking around the shops is frightening! I cannot believe the number of fat kids I see - girls from say 12 - 20 who are just plain fat; mirrors of their mothers walking beside them. There is no excuse except for what goes in their shopping trolleys and how much time they spend flopping on the couch gorging the crap they buy :(. NOT happening in MY house!!!

Thanks, Denis...kids talk about you and Romeo all the time:cool:

I was playing golf several years back when one of the guys in the foursome saw a funeral procession going by.
He stopped and held his cap over his heart and said a prayer. After he said amen I commented that was a cool thing he did.

He said "it was the least I could do, after all we were married for 28 years."

love it.

I see a lot of rudeness here in the city. I'm just glad I wasn't raised by wolves.