I’m a grumpy old woman. Almost everything annoys me. I could write a list as long as War and Peace but in the interests of brevity, and it is the soul of wit after all, I can declare that chief among my catalogue of annoyances is nonsense... and there’s so much of it about these days.
I used to believe that everyone was born with common sense. Now, I have my doubts. When I hear people declaring their pronouns or waxing lyrical about bovine flatulence heating the planet and paying more tax to change the weather, I want to poke them in the eyes. I heard a scientist the other day describe how he planned to capture CO2, ship it to some godforsaken place, Australia I think it was, and then bury it in caverns under the sea. In the old days it'd be a straitjacket for him and straight to the asylum.
I grew up in the 70s when Snickers was Marathon, AI were just two letters of the alphabet and if the emperor were wearing no clothes there’d be people queueing up to point it out. Those heady days when we shared a common truth and agreed reality. Alas, we have entered a post-truth era, in which facts are considered subjective. Each is entitled to his own ‘truth’, his own ‘reality’. Everything is relative. There are no absolutes. Nonsense prevails and to call it out is sexist, racist, fascist, sizeist or some other ist. Small wonder the social fabric is unravelling before our eyes.
My other pet hate is slow people. People who talk slowly or walk slowly, I just can’t be doing with. Though I try to hold myself back, I can’t help but finish their sentences for them and have been known to mutter behind them on escalators attempting to awaken them to the realisation that stairs are to be climbed. I mean life’s too short, right?
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There aren’t too many things that set this grumpy geriatric’s heart ablaze, but one of them is growing food, which I won’t go on about as I’ve bored you with my horticultural prowess on too many occasions. Another is courtesy, kindness and acts of selflessness.
I was in the city last weekend when, rounding a corner I almost collided with a gentleman coming in the opposite direction. In a swift motion he stepped aside creating space for me to pass and extending his arm in a sweeping gesture he said warmly
“After you madame.”
“The age of chivalry is not dead” I replied, and exchanging smiles we went on our way both better for the encounter.
I’m on an Irish off-grid group on Telegram where recently, a couple of the men volunteered assistance to an aged damsel in distress, fixing her heating free, gratis and for nothing. This group has 12,000 members, so these are not people who know each other. I tell you, it made my heart sing... a rousing rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody it was, a cappella!
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Posted in response to @galenkp's Weekend Experiences prompt
asking 'What annoys you and what energises you? Name two of each and explain.?
The images are my own
Haha you and me both - I am WICKEDLY intolerant of slow people. My poor husband even copped my contempt today when he failed to solve the problem of the camper doors opening the way we want them to in a time frame that I approved of, namely, in the first ten minutes of being in the shed. The poor man moved quicker than air most days and still this isn't fast enough for me.
Australia is absolutely a god forsaken place and thank - the stars? - for that. God hasn't worked well in Ireland or many other places besides, so give me a nation of heathens. Mind you it's 41 degrees as we speak so I think we have all gone to hell.
As for political correctness, the hubs told me a hilarious joke today that started 'do you know you can't even say 'black paint' anymore?', which answered itself with something wickedly funny, but only after you looked around you to make sure no one was listening to your wicked unwokeness.
Grumpy old woman? You betcha.
I knew it! I had a feeling from your writing that you'd be one of the speedy crew.
As to religion, I believe none of it but I must say the old holy Ireland was a far more agreeable place to live. Fear of perpetual suffering sure makes for good behaviour and keeps people honest.
41 degrees? Phew! I remember 42 degrees in Cuba and it almost killed me. We're basking in an unseasonably mild 10 degrees.
10 degrees?? You'll be sunbaking rubbed in goosefat with ice in your Guinness at 11 degrees!!!
It seems like everything else common sense has been hit with a serious dose of inflation and many are lacking the ability to grasp any!
It's great to see chivalry is not dead, even if frowned upon these day by, well those lacking the common sense oddly enough!
Don't knock the !SLOTH walk until you've tried it! Sometimes slow and steady is the only way to walk, after a late night at the pub for example! Ha!
Hahaha, good point, though I'm a lifelong teetotaler and always walk at least at a sprint.
I think common sense packed up and left along with the 20th century. Happily there are still some old-school gentlemen about who haven't been routed by the feminazi mobs.
Just checking on where I stand:
Grows food ✅
Courtesy and kindness ✅
Seems like I'm in!
Where you stand? Sure you stand on the side of the righteous and good, the noble and the brave:)
You bloody sweet talker.
Keep it coming.
You are right, the problem is asylums have been closed, once back in the days these things were called mental diseases now they are legitimate like normality... That's the twilight of west
Agreed! We need to get those asylums up and running again. There are so many people need to be lobotomised:)
Slow anything. It's one of the reasons I can't tolerate docudramas, which my husband consumes like soda pop. These faux news programs take forever to tell a story that could easily be summarized in a page, and read and a few moments.
As I grow older (yes, even older than you), I'm more tolerant of slow drivers and slower walkers as I join their ranks. However, I would never hold up a speedy young one, but would move aside so the spry could get on.
I make an exception for the aged and infirm for they are not slow people but people who have had slowness thrust upon them:)
😂
Priceless.
Yes, slow people are a plague upon this earth. A trip to the supermarket is an exercise in restraint for me. Just this morning there was this couple staring at the salami display like it was the bloody Mona Lisa. Most times I mutter something in English so not many people will get what I'm saying, although the annoyed expression on my face doesn't require translation. Anyway, since I did not actually kill anyone this morning, I consider it a good day.
Hilarious! I think they should have fast and slow lanes in supermarkets!
#hive #posh