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by R. C. (RCat) Arquette
I consider myself to be a rather informal, laid-back kinda' guy, but there are some things that we do in our day to day life that fall within the old definition of the Golden Rule. You remember that one, 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' Makes sense in a rational world, but I guess the world has pretty much gone to hell in the last fifty years, so I shouldn't be surprised at anything that goes on. If we did follow that rule, then all those things we used to do to make life a nicer place for all of us, would still be happening. 'Like what?' I hear you ask.. Well, if you're over the age of, oh let's say twenty, you can probably recall holding a door for someone to go through. This was done for all women, those people with packages in the hands, children, and the handicapped or infirm; not anymore. In most cases people don't even know what's going on around them let alone stop to hold a door for someone. Then how about when you're walking down a sidewalk or a hallway and you're on the right side and you look up to see some bozo coming right at you. They have that glazed look in their eye and indicate no concept for 'keep to the right!' This becomes a stand-off and I've found the best way to deal with it is to look down and let the offending party wonder if you're going to get out of the way or not. They move, nineteen out of twenty times, the twentieth runs into you and looks like a boob and you win a minor victory while sustaining minimal injury (you can brace for impact and sometimes take the moron right off their feet…yes!). Lines. These are a great place to see people at their worst. We Americans are great at standing in line. We are trained in this from birth, but it appears the training isn't sinking in with the indigenous population or our new naturalized citizenry. I personally think it should be mandatory that anyone seeking citizenship should have to pass a 'line test' before being granted such status. I would make it a lot easier on the rest of us. The concepts seem simple enough: you take the next spot at the end of the line and wait patiently, like the rest of us. Yet, lately lines seem to have degenerated into masses of people pressing ahead with total indifference to the people around them. This causes irritation, outrage, and physical abuses if left unchecked. This is why it is essential that an 'alpha line leader' assume the role of line monitor and make sure that the folks behind them are maintaining their place in line according to the unspoken rules of the game. One of those rules is that lines move in a given direction, so don't attempt to move opposite to that direction or you chance having the wrath of one or many of the lines members come down on your pointy little head. Of course the biggest taboo is 'butting' in line, attempting to move into a spot that you have not earned by proving your patience like the rest of us have. This might not just result in wrath on the part of the other line members, but it could escalate to the point where the offending party is either verbally or physically abused by someone. Evryone in the line knows that this is a serious breach of line etiquette and is punishable by a severe beating. You have been warned! So much for lines…let's move on. There used to be a time in this country when men and women wore hats; they wore a lot of hats. In every home and building you went into there was a hat rack or someone hired to check your hat and keep it until you finished your business and were ready to leave. No one ever sat at a table or desk with their hat on. Women in dressy hats could get away with this, but men took their hats off in the presence of women as a sign of respect; more importantly though, to sit at a table in a restaurant with your hat on was just not done. Today I see men in baseball caps, pork pies, and cowboy hats sitting around grazing in posh and not so posh restaurants with their hats on their heads, afraid the sun might get in their eyes or the rain or snow might blow down their neck while eating their KFC or Big Mac. It looks like a room full of mushrooms with vacant stares, all munching away, often with mouths agape masticating some old cows flank for the benefit of everyone in the room; sure makes me want to sit there and enjoy a meal, I'll tell ya'! Take off the stupid hat..show a little respect for the women folk or better yet, for yourself. While were belaboring morons in hats, how about those trendy brain-dead athletes, or athletic wanna-bes, that show up for a meal in their sweat suits and jogging gear. Looking at these characters, who appear to be ambulatory sleeping bags, you can almost smell the sweat of the last five miles on them at a distance of ten feet. Here, the rest of us have bothered to shower and put on some street clothes to enjoy our meal, and this bunch of modern American low-life stroll in followed by a cloud of flies (or maybe it just seems like there are flies..part of the athletic chique' I suppose) and plop their butts down at the table next to us. Their presence suddenly makes everything on the menu as appealing as 'Boiled Jock-Strap with Sneaker Surprise.' If people want to look like this they should stay home and burn some meat on the grille in the backyard where the only thing they can offend is each other. Oh for some disinfectant spray! There is more to my list of 'fashionably rude' behavior for the new millennium, things like: talking in a movie, cell phones, driving habits, colds in public places, out of control kids, peeing on the toilet seats in public bathrooms (or worse!), chewing with your mouth open, dragging your feet, throwing trash in a can and not leaving it everywhere, bathing and using a toothbrush on a regular basis, putting things back where you find them, respecting other people's space and property and many, many more. 'How did we arrive here,' I again hear you ask. Glad you asked. It would seem that the blame for this social blight is now attributed to the parents of our young. as well as an educational system that has been left toothless and in decline. With each successive generation, less and less is taught about how to behave like civilized human beings, whether at home or in the classroom, and we end up with a group of rude people fundamentally flawed by their lack of social grace. You would think that if you went back to the concept of treating people like you'd like to be treated, it would be a no-brainer; specific training really wouldn't be necessary. Yet in a world where it is cool to beat up on the other guy, verbally or physically, and death and bloody mayhem is the accepted norm, taking off your hat or opening a door does sound pretty damn picayune. I suppose there are a few practitioners of the dying art of treating people with respect out there performing spontaneous acts of kindness to the blank stares of the uninitiated cretins in the street, but I'd guess there aren't many. The next time someone holds a door for you or takes off their hat inside, take notice. If you can sit and enjoy a meal next to people who seem to take some pride in what they look and smell like, be grateful. If someone lets you into traffic without flipping you off, be thankful. Most of all though, given the opportunity, for cryin' out loud do the same for them! It won't take but a second or two and hey...you might even feel good about it. Enough of this preachy stuff; preachy stuff should probably be on that list too, come to think of it?! I'll let you get on with your day, with something to think about as you engage the other hairless apes you come in contact with and maybe we'll all be nicer people by tomorrow… …Nah! Some things are too much to ask. Your Faithful Reporter - RCat Who is this Guy RCat? Currently, his duties include acting as the head of a family consisting of an overworked wife, a vibrating teenaged son, and an over stimulated housecat. An elder daughter resides at some distance with her own family; a husband, two sons, and a daughter. As head of this merry band of pranksters, the illusionary aspects of his carefree life are played out on the stage of daily routine. RCat is a self described "survivor," having lived through the "flower power" promises of the 1960's with the goals of world peace, universal brotherhood, free-love, and the legalization of certain organic herbs. Contrary to what others might say, he can still remember parts of it quite vividly. Sadly, those cosmic issues have now been reduced to the cliché. He now, more realistically, understands the world has gone quite mad and no longer cares to be a part of the continuing descent into oblivion. The thought of putting on a loincloth to venture forth and live out his days meditating in a tall tree in a distant forest sounds appealing. Of course, he isn't kidding himself. Chances are a noisy bunch of cretins will quickly invade the tree next to him. Ah well, such is the way of this planet we call home. In the meantime, he scribbles poetry, short stories, and essays, as well as a choppy stream of drawings, cartoons and works of art. All done with a grin as meditative mental therapy in an effort to hold onto what little remains of his sanity. Enjoy him while you can, he is the quintessential endangered species.
For more from RC visit his columns: January, Decmeber, November, October; and his poetry |
Nothin' Better
Songs
of
What the hell ever happened to manners? When did
it suddenly become the norm to treat the world around you like
you were the only person in it? Did it happen one Thursday afternoon
when I was taking a nap? It must have, because I sure never got
the freakin' memo on this one! In spite of not being informed,
I'm still affected by this national epidemic and it really has
me grinding my teeth.
R.
C. Arquette, "RCat" to friends and fellow writers,
is an aging hippie and practicing curmudgeon. He was dragged
into the world, kicking and screaming, back in the middle of
the last century; 1950 to be exact. His outburst clearly showed
his disdain for reality at the earliest of stages. He grew up
living in the sub-tropical splendor of the "Sunshine State,"
Florida, US of A, where he attended Jr. College and after twenty
years received his AA degree; what can I say, life kept getting
in the way.
