I Think, Therefore I Rant!

A lot of us use instant messaging (IM) in our private and professional lives. It is a convenient and quick way to talk to others without the formality and delay of email. A new jargon has been created to talk in this medium and emoticons are often used to express feelings and emphasis.

You can tell a lot about someone by reading their instant messages. The biggest thing you can tell to see if someone is just plain clueless is if they send you messages like this:

IDontKnowHowToIM: Did you watch the game
IDontKnowHowToIM: this weekend? I thought
IDontKnowHowToIM: it was great and I was
IDontKnowHowToIM: amazed at how well Tom
IDontKnowHowToIM: Brady played he must be
IDontKnowHowToIM: the best player in NFL

What IDontKnowHowToIM meant to type was this:

IDontKnowHowToIM: Did you watch the game this weekend? I thought it was great and I was amazed at how well Tom Brady played he must be the best player in NFL

Some of you are not going to get this post. I live in the Midwest, not in Boston or New York. There are different rules of etiquette in driving in those two cities but everywhere else is pretty much like the Midwest (or should be).

When I was a kid (as my children say - back when TV was black and white, the radios only played AM, and a CD was bought by rich people at the bank), we always let others in when driving and were stopped at a stoplight. You know the situation, you are the 5th car from the light, some poor soul just spent half of his savings at the gas station on the corner, and now he needs to enter the traffic stream. Back in the dark ages, that driver would give you a wave of thanks and usually even mouth a “Thank you” in your direction.

I am a very polite person (okay stop laughing). I was taught by my dear mother to always be polite to others, especially strangers.

So why is it so hard to say “I’m Sorry” (my apologies to the great Elton John and his songwriter Bernie Taupin for stealing this line - couldn’t resist).

It is one thing to be bumped in a crowd. Everyone understands that you are going to bumped, fondled, and stepped on in a crowd of noisy and obnoxious people. But if I am standing in a spot with plenty of room around me for even the biggest and fattest person to crawl through, I expect you to not step on my toes.

If you do step on me, hit me with your 20 pound purse or sneeze on me, would it kill ya to say “Sorry Dude” after I get back up from the floor where you knocked me?