It was thoughtful of our local Dispatch columnist (the czar of
the
”
Republic of Gilroy
”
) to remind me in his column dated Dec. 5 that for a
columnist,
”
A cheer risks nothing. A cheer is more than likely self-serving.
We ought to be suspicious of columnists bearing cheers.
”
It was thoughtful of our local Dispatch columnist (the czar of the “Republic of Gilroy”) to remind me in his column dated Dec. 5 that for a columnist, “A cheer risks nothing. A cheer is more than likely self-serving. We ought to be suspicious of columnists bearing cheers.” Well, maybe if you’re paranoid, that’s true. But I think a few cheers in a column are good at times. And that was the purpose of my No.v 25 column, because even here in good old Gilroy it’s good to take a break from the negative news that’s discussed by some of The Dispatch columnists regularly.
But considering your comments Doug, I’ll do what you suggested, and as you said, “Emote, … Smolder a little!” So in this column I’m going to smolder with some observations that have been bugging me as I travel around town.
My first smoldering is directed to all of the local Gilroy airheads who drive around blasting noise from their car stereos so loud (with the bass accentuated) that it makes their vehicle rumble, and my teeth rattle within 20 feet of them. I’ve yet to find one of these self-serving drivers who display this lack of social manners to be over age 40. And I might add, none of these people are blasting classical music or anything else that has a degree of melody to it. It’s always rap noise that’s pouring forth.
These people are so dumbed down by what they listen to that they’re oblivious to understand their brains are in the process of being turned into jelly, thanks to the constant bombardment of audio decibels at the pain level for normal people.
In this self-destructive hearing process, they’re apparently unaware that they’re in the process of going deaf. Well, maybe most of them are already deaf, thus the excessively loud volume. So for those people here in Gilroy who blast their noise while driving and don’t give a rip about other drivers’ sanity, may your reward be a good cheap hearing aid by your 40th birthday.
My second gripe goes to all local Gilroy bicyclists, no matter what their ages, who fail to practice bicycle safely when bike riding. I see kids and adults riding bicycles just about every time I’m out driving around town.
While I don’t claim to arrive at my opinion based upon the results of a scientific analysis, the repetition of behavior by the various riders I’ve seen really makes me wonder what’s happened to the concept of bicycle safety. Time and time again I observe both adults and kids on bikes:
• Riding on the sidewalk at full speed.
• Riding on the wrong side in the street towards traffic.
• Riding through boulevard stop signs (the red ones that read STOP), without even a hint of slowing down, much less stopping.
• Riding without wearing a helmet.
• Riding in the dark without any headlight or reflectors.
• Riding with a passenger or passengers who is/are hanging on the front or back of the bike.
Keep on riding like this long enough people, and the odds are that you’ll wind-up on the pavement with broken bones, if not some far worse medical malady. And speaking of bike riding, an additional jeer to the parents/guardians who are not ensuring their children are practicing safe bike riding habits.
So don’t be surprised if your kid gets flattened. But never mind that it was probably your kid’s fault. You can always file a lawsuit and get cash for their stupidity.
My next “smoldering” is to all the people who have those silly “Baby On Board” signs in their car windows. Just what does that mean to the rest of the driving public is suppose to do – get off the street? Stay back 50 feet? So there’s a “baby on board” – so what? How’s that different from having an elderly relative “on board”, or kids in the car? It’s your responsibility to make sure the baby is in a proper child restraint seat, and that you, the driver, are exercising maximum care by using appropriate defensive driving tactics to ensure the safety of all passengers in your vehicle when you drive – no matter what their ages. In the meantime, remove that dumb sign, or else thinking people might get the impression that the baby is the one driving the car.
My last jeer goes to all those drivers who refuse/forget to turn-on their headlights in daytime rain/fog or at twilight. These people appear to be totally clueless to comprehend that an important safety objective is for one ‘s vehicle to be seen by other drivers and pedestrians. Visibility goes both ways. Remember, driving defensively does not mean driving stealthy. And you don’t get better gas mileage or save your battery in this case by keeping your headlights off.
So Doug, I hope that this verbiage meets your “emote” criteria. If so, then as you said, “Cheers to the hearty heartfelt diatribe, the raw, vulnerable nerve exposed honestly, without guile.” If not, well, too bad.
