Ira’s Pet Peeves – Part I

Posted by: on May 19, 2011 | 2 Comments

Ira’s Pet Peeves – Part I

There are some things that occur in life on a seemingly regular basis. I don’t really feel like spending a whole blog, so I’m going to group them into “Ira’s Pet Peeves” and throw a few out at you from time-to-time. Here’s the first in what I plan to be a series of random pet peeves that I think we all encounter.

Pet Peeve #1 – The Call Me Email
The other night, I got an email from a client of mine that read “Call me.” Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon occurrence which always gets me thinking “Why? Are your fingers broken?” If you think about it, it actually takes more effort to write the email and send the email than it actually takes to tap in 10 numbers on your phone. Now that I’ve made this pet peeve public, it will be interesting to see how many folks email me to “call them” just to piss me off!

Pet Peeve #2 – Sidewalk Hogs
Yesterday I was walking down Millburn Avenue. Coming at me were 3 people walking side-by-side.  When we got within a few feet of each, I almost had to walk into a building to get past them because they continued to walk side-by-side, never breaking formation. When I said excuse me (slightly sarcastically), they looked at me like I had done something wrong. The only I did wrong was not walk right through them like a bowling ball…assholes!

Pet Peeve #3 – The Textwalker (and I think I just made up a new word!)
Actually, this probably is worthy of more than one blog as it happens so often and I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about (and you may be one yourself). These people walk around, all day, nose buried in their cell phones as they text away. You see them on not so crowded suburban streets, very crowded city streets, malls, parks, supermarkets, etc. I read somewhere that emergency rooms have seen a dramatic increase in injuries that occur because people are walking into objects on the street (telephone poles, street signs, garbage cans, etc.) because texting while walking.  Some of these folks even get concussions! My solution when I see someone like that approaching me on the street is to stop and see if they’ll walk into me. Usually they don’t but I would really like to be the cause of sending someone to the emergency because they were textwalking and just couldn’t react quickly enough to my elbow swinging at their  head.

Pet Peeve #4 – Car Door Swinging Open Into Traffic
Many moons ago, while I was walking home from high school, I witnessed a car accident where the person getting out of their car, swung there door open directly into the flow of traffic and an oncoming car took that door right off. For those of you from Great Neck, this occurred on Middle Neck Road right in front on Nassau McGowan (I kid you not). Luckily, nobody got hurt. I’m actually shocked this doesn’t happen more often. As Linda will attest, this is actually a dream of mind. I’m driving some beat up old car (maybe I can find that Caprice Classic I used to drive a few years back) on Millburn Avenue, somebody in really, really expensive that has just parked swings open their door just as I drive by and whammo! Off comes the door faster than you can say “you stupid moron but at least that was not my fault.” And as I long as nobody gets hurt, I think that would be kinda fun.

I think that’s enough for today. Now go forth, find your own pet peeves and let me know what those. It’s always nice to share!


2 Comments

  1. julianne
    May 20, 2011

    hey… thanks for my daily chuckle. I can relate to all 4! And … am guilty of #3 sometimes walking my dog 🙁 U R soooo the next Andy Rooney!! We need a show for you!!! But… in the meantime i will settle for the blog 🙂

  2. Stumptown Ken
    May 20, 2011

    #3 — check out this video … and the gaul of the texter!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXYY_ep5Nh0

    #4 — here in Portland we have the largest percentage of bike-commuters in the country. Cars and bikes share thoroughfares … not always amicably. Car doors opening into traffic — bike traffic — is a big issue, because it isn’t only the car door that gets smashed!