Lord, deliver me from stupid!

I am trying to keep stupid from "rubbing off" and onto me. I have just run across a lot of stupid things done by seemingly stupid people today.

I put a message on the Johnston County Community Recycle email list a few days ago to give away a Nordic Track machine. Nordic Track was made famous with their ski machines a few decades ago. I have one that has been sitting under my carport for a while. I have no room in the house, and have been wanting to find it a home. A dozen people responded. The first respondent backed out when she discovered it was a ski machine (HELLO????) and that she lived in a single wide trailer and therefore did not have enough room for it. Then why respond to an offer for an exercise machine at all?

The next person on the list was then contacted. She didn't come get the machine. Then, stupid is as stupid does. "I have a really stupid question. Is this the ski machine?" Again, same results. If you don't know what something is, then why even ask to have it? Is it greed? Is it a contest and the thrill of playing the game? Why ask for something freely if you don't know what that something even is? That just pisses me off. I have contacted the third respondent. We will see where that goes.

Later, while traveling on highway 210, there was a John Deere tractor that was slowing down ahead of the trio of cars behind him. I was in the second car. He was well ahead of us. He was about to make a left turn, had his left directional on, and was stopping to make the turn. The driver of the car immediately behind him and in front of me decided to go around him at the same time he was in the process of making his left turn. That huge John Deere almost creamed that little Corsica (or similar white car). The tractor driver just sat there looking at the car, looking back, looking at the car, looking at where he was driving. He was utterly amazed, as was I.

I stopped at Wal-Mart in Erwin on my way back from doing a service call. I wanted to go to the vision department and get a wipe cloth for my glasses. The nice Crizal cloth that I got with my glasses is now in my wife's possession. I was tired of not having something with which to clean my glasses while on the road. They had a blue cloth, but the lady behind the counter insisted that I would need a spray cleaner along with it in order to clean AR (anti-relfective coated) lenses. I told her that I was given a cloth that even had the Crizal logo on it for dry cleaning the lenses when I bought my glasses. She insisted that can not be the case, since it is imperative that AR lenses be cleaned with a spray solution that she would sell to me at additional cost. It was amazing how stubborn she was about the concept that I could not have a dry wipe cloth, even if it is provided by the lens manufacturer for cleaning of their own product. I walked out, instead. I later stopped by my optician's office (where I got the cloth and my glasses) and they happily gave me another one, free of charge.

At JR's a little bit ago. We just got back from there within the last half hour. There was a wooden, colorful, cat themed box that was a tissue dispenser with two extra drawers underneath. We were interested in it, since our house has many cat themed decorations. The display unit was the only one left. One of the drawer handles was loose and comes out whenever you attempt to open the drawer. We offered to buy it is they would discount the price. The department manager called the store manager. She refused to budge on the price. They lost the sale. I am not going to pay full price for something that is broken. They just pissed off two loyal customers.

On the way home, four Black youngsters were riding their bicycles in the middle of a busy street. Not along the side of the road, but in the middle of the street, refusing to move for traffic. Amazing is the arrogance of ill mannered children. Shortly thereafter, we watched an old man riding on a lawn tractor down the sidewalk of highway 301. ON THE SIDEWALK! A riding lawn mower! And, he was towing a trash can on wheels.

I have had about all the stupid that I can handle today. In less than an hour, I am going to observe the town council meeting here in Selma. I hope that the stupid streak is over. I will let you know.