By Jerry duPhily
Just days ago, I exited my parking lot on the Riverfront to run a short errand. The traffic light was red and a significant opening had formed in the waiting line of cars. So I eased into the 30-yard opening, raising my hand to acknowledge the driver for letting me in.
But he wasn’t letting me in — he was texting — and once he processed my “transgression” he laid on his horn as if he’d just been side-swiped. The traffic light was still red.
Now, so was my face. Boy, it’s hot out here.
Such driving experiences are near daily occurrences these days. Especially since COVID. But the tension isn’t restricted to being behind the wheel. Patience has gone the way of the rotary phone.
Try asking for assistance at a big-box store and you’re greeted with: That’s not my department.
Go to the bank for answers — because it’s quicker than waiting on hold — and you’re scolded with: You know, you can do that online. (Like I didn’t try.)
So, you head to a Phillies game to chill out. But after waiting a half inning to order a beer because the bar is elbow-to-elbow, you discover your head was turned — trying to follow the game — when the server came. Now, she’s gone. You plead.
“Sorry, you weren’t ready,” she replies.
Really! You can’t cut me a little slack while you charge me $16 for a beer — a price that insults my fiscal intelligence?
Sorry, but these are not slack-cutting times.
Our politics have become too polarizing is the familiar diagnosis. Candidates must turn the temperature down, media pundits pontificate.
But is that it? All of it?
Without question, we use the pronoun “they” far too often when talking politics. And if we’re being honest, many of us would benefit from physical therapy for our listening muscles. However, today’s social climate is more complicated than the simple red-vs-blue standoff.
We’ve just emerged from a global pandemic — and the aftershocks are still reverberating. Then there’s technology, which is changing so rapidly even 30-somethings are old school.
Which brings us to AI, ready to render all our career skills obsolete. Oh, and let’s not forget global warming — you did notice it was hot?
In other words, challenging times. Extremely challenging times. Times best approached with a cool head.
So, if you want the temperature turned down, dial back your own thermostat.
Which could manifest into you acquiescing when a driver is trying — politely — to break into your line of traffic. Which could, in turn, prompt an appreciative wave from the benefiting driver. And chances are, you’ll still make the light.
