Random acts of kindness

As a parent, I try to impress upon my boys the importance of being kind, of doing unto others as you would have done unto you. Consider the image of helping a little old lady across the street, or doing something as simple as holding a door for a stranger. I just love the insurance company commercials about the impact of the random acts of kindness and how the recipients pay it forward. I have, over the years, done things like that--my kids roll their eyes and think I'm crazy, but I think once their brains mature, they'll understand better. Last year, on the way home from the state baseball tournament in Columbus, Matt and I stopped at a Steak & Shake somewhere around Marion. They were decidedly short-staffed, and I could tell our waitress had had a very rough day. I won't say I had exceptional service, but given the circumstances, she did a good job, so I left her a $10 tip on a $15 bill. She'll remember it someday when she sees someone else having a bad day. I didn't do it for attention (and that's not really why I'm telling the story), just to point out that little things can have a lifelong impact on others. (and my son has told this story numerous times, so like it or not, it's had an impact on him and he still thinks about it.)

I've had a long, miserable week at work (well, sometimes at home because I've spent the better part of a week fighting a migraine). I had someone who works for me break a leg, someone else return from maternity leave (yeah!), projects that have had major issues, a couple that have done well--all in all an exhausting week. Traffic was nasty coming home, and as I turned on Phillips over to Lewis, there was a guy on a bike, obviously on his way home from work. With gas prices what they are, I understand his mode of transportation. But he wasn't wearing a helmet, he had on headphones, and he was holding up traffic by drifting in and out. It was getting a bit frustrating, but then came that random act of kindness... There was a couple struggling to either load or unload a washing machine from the back of a pickup truck. The man on the bike started to ride by, then stopped, pulled off the road (freeing up traffic--yeah!), and went over to help them take care of what they were doing. It was pretty obvious that he didn't know these people, but he interrupted his commute to take a few moments to help out a stranger. He was actually dressed nicely as well-- not in clothes I'd use to be moving heavy loads. My frustration vanished, and the rest of the ride was peaceful, if only in my mind. You can be sure, after having witnessed this, that I will be looking for the next opportunity for my own random act of kindness ... just like those commercials.

Where are the grammar police when you need them?

I have reached my quota of listening to grammatical errors today. I will confess to not always being perfect in my sentence structure (and fat-fingering into typos periodically). My worst offense tends to be dangling prepositions. I know this is incorrect, but sometimes I get lazy.

I am, however, a stickler for matching tense. Past participles are the worst! I just heard an announcer in either the Tigers/Royals or the Reds/Padres game utter the phase "should have ran." It is "should have RUN". If one more college educated person in my work place (or household) says "should have went" instead of "should have gone," I think I am going to lose what is left of my sanity. I also overheard a colleague state that they "seen someone." AAARRRRGGGHHHH.

My latest nitpick is the phrase "I have got to." The word "got" is totally unnecessary, yet usage of this phrase has become so commonplace, it's easy to overlook the fact that it is off kilter.

OK, enough of my ranting. What are some of YOUR pet peeves?

Time flies...

Two weeks since my last blog? Seriously? Time flies when you're having fun--well, actually, time flies. Period. We are in the final week of baseball. The season went quickly. It was a fun year. Summer basketball is winding down and football is gearing up. While prognosticators on MLive see no chance for the Mules this year, those of us who have watched this year's varsity players over the years see all kinds of positive possibilities, and the freshmen should do just fine as well (and JV, although I don't have anyone on that team).

My class reunion is coming up in less than a month. Talk about time flying! Too much work to do on wrapping up the details on this shindig! Not to mention the fact that it's been 30 years(!) since we graduated. It's funny, though, how when my classmates and I look at each other, we still see the same person we saw back in the 70's (just as foggy now, although for different reasons ).

Craig asked me the other day what it felt like to be almost 50. I had to point out that I still had over a year and a half to reach that point and he'd be better off asking his uncle, who will be 50 in September. Overall, though, it's just a number. I'm still 24--just twice over. My body has become a shape shifter and my hormones have taken a different direction, but I'm still active (although comfort has replaced fashion!). I like to think I'm wiser in addition to being older, just as long as my friends still think I'm crazy after all these years.