My son got his learner’s permit last year, and I was thus obligated to ride along with him and try to teach him how to be a good driver. For the most part, he learned quickly, but my biggest complaint was how he drove in our own neighborhood. Despite my constant warnings that kids played in our streets all the time and were regularly running between cars with little warning, [Son] seemed to think I was being paranoid.

He never went quite as slow as I’d like on the roads, though he was still going slower than some reckless drivers in our development. More worrying, though, was his complete lack of situation awareness. He didn’t pay enough attention to the road ahead or scan for potential risks.

We were coming back home from a practice drive when I noticed a car parked on the side of the road had its blinkers on.

Me: “The car ahead has its blinkers on.”

I don’t know how he does it, but I could hear the eye roll in his response.

Son: “It’s not even movin—”

Me: “—STOP!”

Son: “Wah?”

[Son] wasted a precious fraction of a second trying to figure out why I was shouting at him and composing his witty verbal response. During that time, the door of the car with its blinkers on started to open right in front of us.

I grabbed the steering wheel from my spot in the passenger seat and twisted it to turn us into the other lane, since I had been watching the road and potential hazards. I knew there was no car coming in that lane, so it was safe to swerve into it.

Me: “Brake!”

[Son] belatedly listened and slammed the brakes. We ended up sitting diagonally across both lanes. Had the door of the car in front of us opened fully, we would still have run into it and ripped it off its hinges. Luckily, the door stopped only a fraction of the way open, which meant that the turn into the other lane was enough to avoid hitting it.

I’d shouted a stop because I’d seen someone opening the door, but hadn’t had enough time to process who it was opening it. Now that we were stopped, I could look into the car proper, to see a young child sitting in the driver’s side seat of the car. A young woman was in the passenger side seat and had stretched over the seat and across the lap of the young child to yank the door shut as best as she could.

Eventually, she managed to get herself and the child out of the car. The child was crying and upset, but she still came over to check to make sure we were okay and apologize. Once the child had calmed down, I got a little more detail as to what had happened.

The child had wanted to play in his aunt’s new car, and so she had allowed him to do so only after repeatedly warning him that he wasn’t allowed to open the driver’s side doors without first getting permission from her. The child disregarded this rule, and his aunt had to grab the door to keep him from jumping out and getting struck by us.

Luckily, she had been paying enough attention to realize what was happening in time to grab the door. She apologized profusely to us and thanked us for not striking her car or the child.

As frightening as the situation was at the time, I have to say it worked wonders on [Son]. From that moment onward, he started driving much more slowly on neighborhood roads and was always watching for children.

Meanwhile, I spoke to the dad of the child who had been playing in his aunt’s car, and his dad says he has been far better about obeying their road safety rules since the incident. It seems the near disaster scared both boys enough to convince them they may want to listen when their elders warn them of something.

My work phone rings.

Me: “Electronics. How can I help you?”

My boss is on the other end of the phone, though I didn’t realize that it was him, as I thought he had already left for the day. He is telling me about a customer on the line and something about a scooter. He puts the call through.

Me: “[Store Name and location], Electronics, how can I help you today?”

Customer: “Yeah, can I talk to the manager of the Electronics department?”

Me: “Unfortunately, our manager has left for the day. But I was told you needed help in Electronics? I’m in that section right now, maybe I can help?”

Customer: “No, I want the manager! Just get me the store manager!”

I try once more to help, but he’s not having it, so I put him on hold and get the manager on duty for the store.

Me: “Hiya, I’ve got a call coming in for you. I was told he wanted help in Electronics, but when I answered, he demanded to talk to you… So I don’t even know what the problem is yet.”

Manager On Duty: “Uh… okay. Thanks.”

I make the transfer and hang up. A few minutes later, my coworker comes back from his break.

Me: “I just had a weird call…”

I tell him what happened.

Coworker: “Ugh! I got him first! I was on my way to break, and Customer Service asked me to take a call. He wanted a charging cord for his electric scooter. I told him that we didn’t have it in our department and that most likely it would be in Sporting Goods, IF we even carried it. So, I sent the call to [Our Manager for our department]. I guess he sent it back to you.”

Just as he finishes speaking, the Manager On Duty comes in, still on the phone and looking through the entire department before finally hanging up. He turned to me.

Manager On Duty: “You’re no longer allowed to send me calls. I came and checked and had to keep telling him we didn’t have it. Then he asked if we were all racist and that we shouldn’t worry because he wasn’t going to call ICE on us to get us deported back to Mexico, and we should just help him. Then told me about how his wife apparently had been followed by security and accused of shoplifting in our store… twenty years ago. And that he is pretty sure one of the people he talked to is high.”

We started laughing, and I shook my head.

Me: “The high one is probably my boss (he has a mellow voice and vibe) and aside from the very first person he spoke to… we’re all white Oregonians.”

Back when metered on-ramps were first installed on the main highway in my town in Oregon, the interval between lights on the ramp I used daily was fifteen seconds. Cars would be backed up onto the adjacent feeder streets, and you could be stuck for fifteen to twenty minutes on the ramp.

Took a bit of research to find out that it wasn’t the City or County, but ODOT (Oregon Department of Transportation) that controlled them.

After repeated complaints and no action, I finally got the names of the two ODOT Traffic Engineers responsible for setting the light intervals. 

I made numerous voice mails, and finally, had one discussion, but still no fix to the issue. 

Well, back in the day (early 2000s), we still had phone books, and both these Engineers had listed home phone numbers.

I got a 4×8 piece of plywood and painted and lettered it:

Sign: “Tired of these idiotic ramp lights? Call the ODOT Engineers responsible for them.”

I then listed both their names and numbers.

Sign: “…And let them know what you think.”

I stood with it on the side of the ramp for two days, from 4 PM to 6 PM. The next day, I get a call from one of them (don’t remember which) begging me to stop.

Me: “Fix the f****** lights.”

ODOT: “You’ll stop with the sign?”

Me: “Fix the f****** lights.”

ODOT: “Okay.”

The very next day, they had a survey crew out there in the afternoon to count cars, and the day after that, the lights were reset to three seconds between cars.

Bottom line…when dealing with government, until those personally responsible are held accountable in a manner that inconveniences or scares them, they will continue to abuse the public, whether from negligence, incompetence, or malice. But bring it home to them, and they will (grudgingly) change their ways.

Reading this story reminded me of another obnoxious order I took recently. I went back to the receipts to confirm this drink exactly. A customer is ordering:

Customer: “Hi, can I get a venti, half-caf, ristretto shot, sugar-free vanilla, upside-down caramel macchiato, extra hot, no foam, light whip, with soy on the bottom and oat milk on top, double-cupped, sleeve between the cups, three ice cubes only, with caramel drizzle crosshatch but not touching the lid?”

This is the order that broke me… and my customer service smile.

Me: “I mean… yes? But… why?”

Customer: “Huh?”

Me: “Why all of… that?”

Customer: *Shrugs.* “I dunno. Saw it on TikTok.”

She got her drink. She didn’t like it.

Related:
That’s A Grande Load Of Nonsense

I had an experience with an anti-masker in 2021 at a PetSmart. I didn’t work there; I was speaking to a manager near the front of the store about some aquarium accessories I’d purchased a few days earlier. 

A man walks in without a mask, and the nearest cashier asks him to put on a mask. He stands in the middle of the entrance, yelling about how Walmart doesn’t require masks anymore, so neither should PetSmart. The manager I’m speaking with tells me to give her a minute and walks over to tell the man that it’s still PetSmart corporate policy to require them… regardless of what Walmart does or doesn’t do.

The man keeps arguing. I happen to be well dressed as my office had the bigwigs visiting that week. I walk over and tell the man:

Me: “Look, if you don’t have a mask, there’s a box of them right over behind you.”

He glares at me and says:

Customer: “I HAVE one, I just don’t think it’s right that you’re forcing me to wear it!”

Me: “Look, both of these ladies have asked you nicely. At this point, you can either put on the mask to come in and shop, or you can leave.”

He stutters and begins another rant. I raise my voice JUST enough, and say:

Me: “Alright, dude, you’re wasting ALL of our time. It’s a simple choice. Do it or LEAVE.”

He angrily takes out his mask, puts it on, and then rushes into the store to find whatever.

I apologize to the manager, and she kind of grins at me.

A minute later, the guy comes straight up to me and starts screaming in my face:

Customer: “Do you work here? I’m going to get you fired for speaking to me like that! You don’t have the right to tell me what to do!” *Insert various colorful metaphors as you will.*

I calmly tell him:

Me: “No, I don’t work here. In fact, I am not restrained by ANY corporate rules because I don’t work here. Would you like to discuss it further outside?”

I didn’t plan on fighting the guy, but that’s a common assumption when someone asks you to take it outside, and I’ll tell you I’ve never seen a grown man run with his tail tucked between his legs faster than him.

Funny how people think it’s okay to belittle and scream at people who are basically trapped and unable to respond the way they would like. Then when they find out you are free to respond however you wish, they turn into giant chickens.

Related:
An Ugly Side Of Society Has Been Unmasked, Part 40
An Ugly Side Of Society Has Been Unmasked, Part 39
An Ugly Side Of Society Has Been Unmasked, Part 38
An Ugly Side Of Society Has Been Unmasked, Part 37
An Ugly Side Of Society Has Been Unmasked, Part 36