Bike This

          No matter how many notes I scribble, no matter how many reminders I make, no matter how many directions I go, I seem to miss some of the points that I thought were important enough to try to remember. All of that has led me to this point. Are you ready?

          Let me just dive right in head first and say that I’m all for being active, getting exercise, picking your fat ass off of the couch and being mobile. Participaction is what they used to call it where I come from, with Joanne, what’s her face and Hal, not memorable enough to remember. But the point was all about being active and having fun doing it.

          Fast forward to the now reality and take a look at things like cycling, or bicycling, as some call it. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for being active and staying in shape. I even own a bicycle. It’s all a good thing, but...

          Some of you cyclists seem to have forgotten the general rules of the road. No I’m not out on a mission to chastise all people that choose to ride their bike for exercise, but only the militant few that think that the road was made for them. I would like to remind those folks of some forgotten legalities.

          Stop signs matter. Almost sounds like a potential protest rally. If you want to be considered a vehicle, you need to obey the rules. No matter how goofy you think you look, arm signals help. Drivers discern where you are going, duh. You may be well aware of that fact, but the people behind you are not. Do you actually drive your car in that frame of mind? If so, please send me pictures of all of the dents in your vehicle that you have blamed on other people.

          You have an inherent responsibility to NOT be a hazard to traffic. Yes you heard me right. The cars need to be cars and travel along the road. They can easily avoid you when they can, and you can all go about your day.

          When you choose to ride your bike on a major thoroughfare, that is lane reduced due to construction, while you're avoiding the water drainage receptacles (weaving around the sewers), you really don’t seem to have the right to complain about the lack of space you are given, dumbass.

          Just because you can, does not necessarily mean that you should.

Are You For Real?

          It seems that we are now living in an era of the scammer and the con artist. The daily attitude of the general population is becoming more and more based on what we can get away with rather than what we can accomplish. Although I could point fingers at the millennials and the like, but it’s not just the younger members of our society. Although they may very well have started it, and seem to be leading the charge, it’s not just them. This lack of care and concern for other people and other people’s property appears to be being passed UP as I see more and more mature (in age) people adopting this practice. Take advantage, and see if you get caught.

          Do not misread what I’m attempting to say hear. I’m certainly not about to point fingers and blame any particular generation for the escalation in this trend. Although a valid argument could easily be compiled. A lack of significant consequence certainly does play a major role in this as well.

          I guess I’ve noticed this more now that I’m actually looking into something and have found more scams than legitimate information and websites. Here’s the skinny.

I’m looking into having my dog certified as a Therapy Service Dog. You know the kind that you bring for a visit to the sick kid’s hospital old the old age home as a comfort to the people there. There is a required amount of training that the dog and owner must partake in, which is to be expected.

It turns out that there are more scam websites than real ones. All I have to do is pay the cost, around $100.00, and they in return, would mail me the certificate, an ID card to fit in the service dog vest, a wallet card, and a patch. The service Dog vest can be obtained (wait for it) at an extra cost. Why of course it can.

I’m gonna go the legit route. I know that my dog can be of a great assistance to those that need the comfort of a loving animal. And there is no better feeling.

In keeping with the scam artist topic, I wonder if the same sort of thing happens with the handicapped parking permits. Yes, the ones that are displayed in the front window of the vehicle so that the disabled person driving can use the designated spaces reserved for them. Usually the ones conveniently located closest to the entrance way.

I know at times everyone has witnessed a person with one of these permits in their windshield, park their car, step out of their car, and you give them the once over looking to see if they are truly handicapped. You have so. Don’t even try to deny this one. We all look for the cane, the crutch, the limp, the missing appendage, or whatever. Yes you do.

I say this only because I came across, not too long ago, a van parked in the handicapped area. This was not a minivan nor a van with windows. This was a full size contractor van with a ladder on top and the person’s name painted on the side Also painted there were an assortment of tasks the he could perform like dry walling, decks, windows, bathrooms, shingles, and the like. All of this with a handicapped permit in the window.

Now these are all pretty physical jobs to perform even as an able bodied person. Very demanding and sometimes repetitious activities to boot. So my mind went for a stroll and began questioning the application process and eligibility criteria to obtain these types of permits. That’s when the driver returned to his vehicle.

No, I didn’t say anything. However, other than being old, he seemed rather able bodied. No cane, no limp, all appendages intact and stuff. So that’s when I started thinking, and then asked myself.

So what is the handicap here? It must not be physical but mental, because the idiot took up two parking spaces.