Archive for the ‘Everyday etiquette’ Category

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Another installment of “Tales from the Playground”

Monday, May 18th, 2009

When we last left our intrepid hero, he was walking away from the swingset after failing to secure a turn there for his child….

From the swingset I returned to “home base,” the bench next to which I had left our wagon upon arriving at the park.  The wagon, with our coats and diaper bag in it, was gone.

I scanned the playground and found it about fifty feet away.  With a small child in it.  With our coats and diaper bags spread out on the ground next to it.

I walked over to the wagon.  “Please get out of our wagon.  It’s not yours, and it’s not nice to throw other people’s things on the ground.”

Silence.  A look like I’m an alien. (“How dare you tell me what to do?  You’re not my parent!  Oh, wait, my parents don’t tell me what to do either!”)

I tried again.  “Please get out of our wagon.  It’s not appropriate to use other people’s things without permission or throw their things on the ground.

Silence again, but this time he got out.  I loaded our things back into the wagon and pulled it back to where it belonged.

I have no idea where were the child’s parents were during all of this.

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Posted in Boston, Everyday etiquette, Kids | 4 Comments »

Today’s installment of “Tales from the Playground”

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

So, there I was at the playground on Saturday with the three younger kids (1.5, 4, 6).  I asked 1.5 if he wanted to swing in the baby swings and he gave me his customary affirmative grunt.  So we walked over to the swings, which were both occupied by babies whose mothers were immersed in conversation and occasionally giving them pushes.

I said to 1.5 loud enough for the two mothers to overhear: “When one of these babies is finished, then it’ll be our turn.”  Then I waited.  And waited.  And waited.

After a few minutes of waiting, I noticed that there were a few kids waiting for the big-kid swings, one of which was occupied by4.  “Aha!” I said to myself.  “Here’s an opportunity for me to make sure 4 does the right thing while sending a hint at the same time.”  So I called over to 4, “4, there are other kids waiting, and you need to give them a turn.  Three more minutes, and then you need to get off.”  She bargained for minutes and we settled on four more.  A couple of minutes later (what, you think a four-year-old can tell time?), I told her it was time for her to get off, and she calmly stopped swinging, got off the swing, and gave it to one of the kids who was waiting.

The mothers were seemingly oblivious.  I kept waiting, until several minutes later, one of the mothers turned to her baby in the swing and asked her if she wanted to get out.  The baby made it clear that she was going to throw a fit if the mother took her out, at which point the mother turned to me and said, “Sorry, but what can I do?  At this age, she knows what she wants, eh?”

I bit my tongue and choked back the answer I wanted to give: “Yes, lady, she knows what she wants, and she knows how to get it, too!  When you give a kid that age a choice about whether to do the right thing or be selfish, guess what?  She’s going to choose to be selfish!  It’s your job as a parent to teach her that sometimes she has to share, not to let her walk all over you by threatening to tantrum every time you try to make her do something.  How do you think she’s going to learn proper values if you don’t teach them to her?”

Instead of saying all that, I just smiled weakly and said nothing, and 1.5 and I walked away to find something else to do.

Sheesh.

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Posted in Boston, Everyday etiquette, Kids | 3 Comments »

Grammar Police on patrol

Friday, November 21st, 2008

For those whom this might amuse:

From: Jonathan Kamens <jik@kamens.brookline.ma.us>
To: info@commutercheckdirect.com
Subject: Typographical error on “Commuter Benefits Order Fulfillment” email

OK, so admit it, I’m ridiculously picky, and this is a ridiculously trivial thing I’m writing to you about.  Still, on the off chance that someone there might care about it…

 

The “Commuter Benefits Order Fulfillment” email I just got from you reads in part as follows:

 

Participant Address On File:
street address
City MA, 02XXX

 

The comma should be after “City“, not after “MA”.  There isn’t supposed to be a comma between the state abbreviation and the ZIP code.

 

Do what you will with this.

 

Thanks,

 

  Jonathan Kamens

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Posted in Consumer activism, Grammar and Spelling Police | No Comments »

Letting blind people drive

Monday, February 18th, 2008

On the topic of mandatory periodic retesting of senior citizens when they renew their driver’s licenses, my wife recently had this letter printed in the Boston Herald (under the completely nonsensical headline “Rights watered down”, thus proving yet again that the Herald really needs to hire some better headline writers):

Over a decade ago, it was a joke: A BU professor involved in a conference on rights for people with disabilities was hosting a visiting Italian professor. The visitor asked why the crosswalk light was beeping. “It’s for people who can’t see,” our professor explained. Her colleague yelled, “You let blind people drive?”

Apparently, now we do.

The story about the older men losing their eyesight (“What does being old have to do with it?” Feb. 12) was like running a sob story about an alcoholic who knows he will drive drunk but wants to be cut some slack to maim or kill since he visits his sister and likes to shop in Lynn.

We are not talking about “bad” drivers; anyone can be a bad driver and learn to be better one. We are talking about impaired drivers.

Older citizens should be using their political acumen to improve transportation and community networks so that individual cars are not lifelines, not lobbying for the right to knowingly drive impaired.

A… Kamens

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Posted in Driving etiquette, Government activism, Journalism | No Comments »

Rabbinic irony

Tuesday, January 29th, 2008

I just saw an announcement for a talk being given tonight in a Boston Jewish venue by a visiting rabbi who shall rename nameless. The title of the talk is, “Self-Righteousness — Going on an Ego Trip”. The announcement of the talk included the following biography of the speaker (emphases mine):

Rabbi [deleted] was born in the U.K. from an illustrious rabbinic family. He studied at the world famous Gateshead Yeshiva in the north of England, and made Aliya to Israel where he received his Smicha in 1979. He joined Israel’s largest Jewish outreach program “Arachim” and is today one its [sic] senior lecturers on Jewish philosophy and ethics. He has lectured on the international circuit in every English speaking country from Hong Kong in the east to Los Angeles in the west. He has also lectured in Brazil and Mexico.

’nuff said.

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On public apologies

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008

A few days ago, I flew off the handle and attacked someone on the jewish-boston mailing list for a comment which was meant in jest and which I incorrectly took seriously.

I was helped to see the error of my ways by some very polite people, and this morning I sent this apology to the list:

Greetings,

Several days ago, I harshly criticized [name deleted] on this list for making a comment which he meant in jest, but which I took seriously. My comments were inappropriate, and I want to apologize both to Mr. [name deleted] and to the list for making them.

I also want to thank the several people who wrote to me privately and politely expressed their opinion that I had overreacted. Had they expressed themselves as I did, I surely would not have been able to accept their tochacha.

Having been around the block a few times on the Internet, I should have known bettter, and I’m sorry for my lapse in judgment.

Several people have since written to me and told me they were impressed by my public apology.

This depresses me. Why? Because it appears that people think it’s ordinary for someone to attack someone else on a public mailing list, and extraordinary for someone to apologize for such an attack.

In a better world, those would be reversed. *sigh*

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Posted in Everyday etiquette, Judaism, Web | No Comments »

Speed kills

Sunday, April 22nd, 2007

Four teens were killed, and a fifth critically injured, in a single-vehicle car accident in Leicester last Friday night. The driver of the car was traveling at over twice the speed limit. The local high school principal was quoted in the paper as saying, “It’s not like they did anything wrong.” I just sent the following letter to several area newspapers:

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Posted in Boston, Driving etiquette, Law | 15 Comments »

Lost and Found

Sunday, December 31st, 2006

Remember back on the playground, when you lost a favorite knickknack and later saw another kid playing with it? “Finders keepers, losers weepers!” the finder chanted, and that was the end of it, for how could you challenge such a time-honored saying? It is not surprising that children would resort to this defense, but how can it be that so many adults seem never to have grown out of believing it?
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Posted in Everyday etiquette, Ramblings | 11 Comments »

Beating a ticket

Tuesday, September 12th, 2006

Approaching a red light on Washington St. at the intersection with Waverly Ave. near Newton Corner.  Thought the two cars riding the yellow line at the red light were turning left (cars often don’t signal turns at that intersection, or for that matter anywhere else in the Boston area).  Started to pass them on the right as the light turned green, then realized that the one in front was going straight.  Slowed down to let him proceed and merge in behind him, but that apparently wasn’t good enough for him.  He was a state trooper driving an unmarked, and I ended up with a citation for improper passing on the right.

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Posted in Boston, Driving etiquette | 2 Comments »

The quintessential Israel experience

Tuesday, June 27th, 2006

My family is in the middle of a two-week visit to Israel.  Today is my “day off” to spend by myself, and of course, where else would I spend it than at an Internet cafe checking my email :-) ?  I’m not one of those avid bloggers who must record every detail of his vacation, but I thought it would be amusing to recount one incident which fits the theme of my blog.

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Posted in Consumer activism, Driving etiquette, Judaism, Ramblings | No Comments »

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