Missing Courtesy These Days

Good Wednesday morning.

Yesterday, I was trying to pull out of my street at 7:55 a.m to head south towards the rotary. This is a feat in itself, and it has been for a long time, which by the way, is about to get a lot worse once the Dunkins Drive-Thru opens. And then it will get even worse once the St. Anthony's proposal starts construction. 

I noticed the Dunkins needs a small change in approval due to a difference in footprint, and funny how once again our Alderman was missing in action. His silence is deafening. In fact, the Ward 2 Alderman seems to be our Alderman now. 

But I'm getting off track. That's a story for a later date.

My point today is—no one ever lets you out into the line of traffic! 

There was a time when that was not the case, someone would let you out and you would wave and usually they waved back as if to say "no problem." Now they pull up in traffic and block the street so you can't pull out, or they just keep rolling by not even looking at you. A classic example is the Central Street/Montvale Ave. intersection at 5:30 p.m.

What has changed, you ask? Simple—TECHNOLOGY!

Look at the people who drive on the roads now. Almost everyone is on the cell phone. They can't possibly wave you out because one hand is on the wheel, one on the cell phone. I doubt that they are even paying attention. It seems as if they are just pointing the car and forgetting the trip.

Turn signals? Not so much anymore. Think about that for a minute. How many people have you seen this week turning without a turn signal? And my pet peeve: the people behind you who beep as soon as the light turns! I am in the middle of taking my foot off the brake to apply the gas and they BEEP! What's with that? Will the millisecond of time lost make a difference?

And it's not only driving now. It's at the store, the bank, the football game, anywhere! Just a half decade ago, most all of us got along fine without talking on the cell. Now almost everyone is talking all the time and just ignoring the world. I am on the road all day, so that's why I notice it. And I know we will never get back to being courteous again, and I am no angel myself. I am guilty of talking on the phone as well. So I am chastising myself here as well!

However, unless it's an absolute emergency, or a small scale one, such as: "Dad, I'm locked out of the house." I never use it at the store or bank, etc.

All I am asking is that the next time you're driving, think for a second and try being courteous. It's not hard. You may actually like it!

As for the traffic, well, we have to live with it. It's definitely here to stay, so you can expect as traffic gets worse, tempers wil get worse, horns will blow longer and harder. People will have to be on the road into Woburn earlier and earlier. No one wants to be late for work, and the impending traffic nightmare will force people to leave earlier. 

Think courtesy, think about letting someone out into traffic. Or letting someone cross the street. It only takes a second, and it won't slow you down, heck you will probably be on the phone and you won't even miss the extra second!

Oh, and P.S.: When I am at Applebee's having a burger, I don't want to know your end of a phone conversation about your boss, or your accountant. Use some courtesy, try eating and talking to your table mates. It may surprise you how enjoyable and relaxing that can be.