Peeve Zoo

Joe Jones had it right in 1960 -



Ok, maybe not you my dear reader - I am referring to those other people, and to some in particular. 

You know the type - the kind who talk to fill the air, the kind who talk to hear their own voices, or maybe so they don't hear the echoing sound in their brain. 

No, I'm not against talking -- I'm all for communication! Conversation should be a lively exchange of thoughts between two or more people.  But sometimes, with some people, even while you're talking they're talking, or just waiting for you to stop talking so they can start talking.

This yen for yakking is fed by cell phones with unlimited plans.  Once "the talker" has talked out his/her last ear, she/he can just move on to the next victim.

But, am I being harsh?

Perhaps I am the strange one. I generally choose to talk when I have something of consequence to say.  Of course I understand the need for social intercourse (stop thinking dirty!) and basic pleasantries, but I refuse to fill the air space with speech for the sake of quieting some social discomfort.

The desire for social intercourse has been taken too far.  For some of these yakkers, when the phone just won't do, texting takes it's place.  Texting, Tweeting, FB'ing, etc. And yes, even blogging.  Chatter turns into a bombardment of text - and spelling and grammar are it's first casualties. 

Of course, I'm aware I'm not fully a part of the solution but part of the problem. 

In a recent movie, Elliott Gould's character, tells Jude Law's character that "Blogging is graffiti with punctuation."  I actually agree (please read The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet is Killing Our Culture ).  So,  I have no illusions about my writing here or elsewhere on the web.  With my readership, it's more like a tree falling in the woods. Maybe it did fall because a few heard it, but it's of very little consequence.


Incessantly posting updates on what you've eaten for breakfast and your thoughts on the latest Kardashian crisis does not make you a celebrity, and it certainly doesn't make you interesting.

Talking gets in the way of my thinking - I don't even like dictating.  As soon as I open my mouth to "put thought to paper" the thought disappears.  I don't know how those writers do it who dictate entire books.  My most cogent thoughts are in my head, but something gets utterly scrambled between my cerebral cortex and my tongue. 

I do well when I am able to take the time to choose my words wisely, and even better when I say nothing at all.

A very wise man once said:

It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

- Mark Twain (1835-1910)

I think he was quite possibly the most interesting man of all time.

No Smoking


Those words stare back at me from the seat back of the airline seat in front of me. Another warning glares above in the reminding me to buckle my safety belt. Of course I'm not going to smoke, I'm not a smoker – wouldn't dream of it! I do, however, remember a time when people did light up on airplanes –YES, right on airplanes!!! It seems almost unthinkable now. Children growing up today will have no idea of how it used to be. Going out to theaters and restaurants . . . well, anywhere . . . just about anyone and everyone was smoking. It was rolled back gently . . non-smoking sections were granted, non-smoking rooms, non-smoking locations like theaters, etc. became the norm. Non-smoking sections turned into smoking sections. Those shrank --- and are now regulated outside . . . most often within a designated area from normal traffic.

To me, the idea of smoking on an airplane seems as foreign an idea as standing up and singing the Finnish national anthem or doing a back-flip down the isle . . . or perhaps spitting. But wait! It wasn't so long ago that signs had to be put up in public places to remind people not to do such unsavory things such as spit. Now, of course, spitting still occurs (you in the rural South know that), but they no longer constantly post signs saying not to. I can only imagine how annoying this is to actual smokers!!! What if they posted “No Eating Doughnuts” everywhere? Wouldn't that just make you want to eat doughnuts? Just writing that makes me think about it. Damn elephant in the room!! People's minds are naturally contrarian. Put up a sign that says “Post No Bills” and you'll get not only signs, but graffiti.

Isn't it time to stop stimulating smokers like Pavlovian dogs to light up as soon as they get a chance?


Once the light switches off, I unbuckle my belt – just because I can.