It is said that as we get older, we don't change. We just become more of ourselves. The fussbudget gets fussier, the shrew gets more shrewish.
Funny, I don't remember being a grumpy child. But grumpiness is my tendency now. Maybe it's because there are so many things to be grumpy about. Following in that shallow magazine tendency to make everything a list of 10, here are 10 of them.
1. Customer service is mostly nonexistent, robotic, overly fake-cheerful or downright rude. Genuine helpfulness is rare.
2. Traffic. Even those of us who walk more often than drive can grouse about all the idiots on the road. "Hey, Nutcase! Ever hear of a crosswalk?"
3. Erosion of social skills. What, when someone smiles and says hello to you, is it too much trouble to return the greeting? Or maybe, Miss Nose-in-the-smartphone, do you not realize that this is how real humans interact?
4. Weather. It's either too hot or too cold. There's too much rain, or too little. When it comes to the weather, we are all farmers.
5. Technology. To paraphrase Bob Dylan: How many gadgets will it take till we know that too many apps are useless? And how complicated can they get; remember when ONE on-off button operated a TV?
6. Politics. All that energy that goes into blaming the other side rather than leading!
7. Celebrities. Comparing the salaries of teachers and football players, or police officers and Vegas headliners, is a sure route to grumpiness.
8. Slobs. Hello-oh! Do you really expect someone else to pick up your PBR can or your dog's poop?
9. Volume. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to have a conversation in a restaurant? Or to be on hold (another grump) without being blasted?
10. Deteriorating written standards. Spelling! Punctuation! Usage! Clichés! Overuse of exclamation points!
It looks as if I have a fine old age as a grumpy old woman ahead of me.
Funny, I don't remember being a grumpy child. But grumpiness is my tendency now. Maybe it's because there are so many things to be grumpy about. Following in that shallow magazine tendency to make everything a list of 10, here are 10 of them.
1. Customer service is mostly nonexistent, robotic, overly fake-cheerful or downright rude. Genuine helpfulness is rare.
2. Traffic. Even those of us who walk more often than drive can grouse about all the idiots on the road. "Hey, Nutcase! Ever hear of a crosswalk?"
3. Erosion of social skills. What, when someone smiles and says hello to you, is it too much trouble to return the greeting? Or maybe, Miss Nose-in-the-smartphone, do you not realize that this is how real humans interact?
4. Weather. It's either too hot or too cold. There's too much rain, or too little. When it comes to the weather, we are all farmers.
5. Technology. To paraphrase Bob Dylan: How many gadgets will it take till we know that too many apps are useless? And how complicated can they get; remember when ONE on-off button operated a TV?
6. Politics. All that energy that goes into blaming the other side rather than leading!
7. Celebrities. Comparing the salaries of teachers and football players, or police officers and Vegas headliners, is a sure route to grumpiness.
8. Slobs. Hello-oh! Do you really expect someone else to pick up your PBR can or your dog's poop?
9. Volume. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to have a conversation in a restaurant? Or to be on hold (another grump) without being blasted?
10. Deteriorating written standards. Spelling! Punctuation! Usage! Clichés! Overuse of exclamation points!
It looks as if I have a fine old age as a grumpy old woman ahead of me.
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