In the past several weeks, there has been two incidents of cars being struck by trains in my area. In one case, a car was trapped between the crossing guards in traffic and the woman driving apparently didn’t know what to do. Her two sons were killed when they were thrown from the vehicle. It’s hard to know if they would have been saved had they been wearing seat belts.
In the second case, a young mother was using her cell phone and drove through a lowered crossing guard and was struck by a train. She and her young son was killed, and her infant daughter survived. Again, the boy was apparently not wearing a seat belt. But the major cause of the accident was her use of the cell phone which was captured on the train’s video camera. It is hard to argue that the distraction of the cell phone contributed to two deaths.
In both of these cases, ignoring common sense safety precautions ended up in tragedy. And I can’t help but wonder what it will take until the general public gets the message and begins to pay attention to these events. Unfortunately, too many of us feel that these kinds of things only happen to other people.
Many times, while waiting for a traffic light to change, I have counted the number of cars going by where the driver was talking on a cell phone. Not the ones using ear-buds, or other hands-free devices…because you can’t easily tell when they’re being used…but drivers holding cell phones to their ear. Almost always, more than 50% of the vehicles were driven by chatty drivers. I’ve often wondered what it is that all those people are talking about that is so important. How did we ever survive 15 or 20 years ago when cell phones were not that common?
I rarely talk on the phone while driving. And when I do, I use a bluetooth head set. And if I make the call, I only use the phone if I am able to connect with voice commands. If I can’t get the phone to respond with voice commands I wait until I stop and place the call. I had one too many close calls trying to drive and dial. In other words, I wised up.
There is a woman in my neighborhood who drives a big white SUV. I have seen this woman driving past my home for probably two or three years. I have yet to see her go past without the cell phone pressed against her ear. I have even seen her walk out of her house, get into her car and never stop talking on the phone. How in the world do you spend that much time on a cell phone?
The problem with using a cell phone while driving is that attention is diverted from operating the vehicle. Usually, this is because hearing the conversation is not all that easy with the noise of the car, traffic sounds, etc., competing with the sounds coming through the ear piece. There are other things that happen when a person is engrossed in that conversation while holding the communication device: turn signals aren’t used, speed is irregular (speed up, slow down, etc.), erratic movements in traffic happen because peripheral vision is blocked by the occupied hand beside the face, and people slam on their brakes because they finally spot the car stopped in front of them. Or worse, they don’t see the car stopped in front of them until they hit it.
My wishing that people would hang up and drive is not going to make it happen. No more than my wishing every parent would strap their kids in when they put them in the car. But maybe we can start a movement to use peer pressure to make a difference. Schools are starting to do it, and in some cases there has been some improvement in teens helping to change their peer’s behavior.
Until then, if you’re driving your car and talking on the cell phone and hear someone honking, it’s me. Hopefully, when you hear the horn it will remind you to hang up and drive!
 Wildflower Meadow - Blue Ridge Parkway
My Virtual Daughter, Meleah, has a post asking what peoples resolutions for the new year are going to be. I listed my ten resolutions, which I am absolutely positive I can keep. I can keep them because they involve things that I would not likely have to face in the first place. You see, I don’t like to disappoint myself.
Over the years, I have made the usual resolutions: lose weight, quit smoking, save money, get a new job. Success at keeping these resolutions has been mixed at best. And after a period of attempting to be faithful to my resolutions the end result was usually giving up before there was any real change or improvement. I like to compare my record in this area to most politician’s record on keeping campaign promises. I’m able to stick to the straight and narrow for a while, but then it just becomes to convenient to take a different path.
So, instead of making a list of changes I’d like to make in my life that are too pie-in-the-sky to have any hope of being met, I’m going to focus on just trying to do the next right thing. If I do that, how can I go wrong? In fact, if the rest of the world took that approach, wouldn’t the world be a better place?
There is only one problem with my logic. Everyone’s idea of what is right is a little bit different. And that’s where we run into problems. I could list a thousand and one examples of what I’m talking about, but anyone reading this can come up with their own with a couple of seconds of thought. One way to measure your own sense of right or wrong would be to apply the Golden Rule. I can’t think of a single time when treating someone else as I would like to be treated has caused a misstep. Now, all we have to do is start a movement where everyone takes that approach.
Just for fun though, I think I will adopt the following list as my New Year’s resolutions for 2010. Then, on New Year’s Eve 2010, I can look back fully content that I was successful in these:
1. I will not jump out of an airplane without a parachute.
2. I will not pose for Playgirl.
3. I will not run for political office.
4. I will not run any marathons.
5. I will not propose to Sandra Bullock.
6. I will not eat liver pudding.
7. I will not agree with Newt Gingrich on anything.
8. I will not buy a new Cadillac.
9. I will not star in a major Hollywood movie.
10. I will keep writing my blog.
Professor gives Starbucks a roasting – Food – NewsObserver.com.
A graduate of UNC Chapel Hill, Professor Bryant Symon, is garnering some attention with a book he has written outlining research around the Starbucks phenomena. In his book, Everything But the Coffee: Learning about America from Starbucks, Symon, who is now a professor at Temple University, takes a close look at the success and culture surrounding the Seattle-based purveyor of coffee and all things coffee-house related. His bottom line seems to be that people are more interested in a facade of affluence that might be suggested because they buy their morning cup at Starbucks.
Professor Bryant says, “Starbucks is selling status, which is a different model than say Wal-Mart, which is about selling more…” He points out that the success of the coffee chain seems to be built on people feeling they are more socially aware, more environmentally responsible, and more culturally connected because they frequent these establishments for their morning coffee. And the way he describes all of this, it is obvious that he sees this as a bad thing. I can’t help but ask, “So what?”
To be totally honest, I have not yet read Symon’s book, but it is on my reading list. I am operating completely from the article cited above. But I really have to wonder what the good professor’s point is. If Starbucks makes use of current social and environmental issues to draw people into their establishments, and it works, isn’t that just good marketing? And if, in the process, people become even just a little more aware of important issues, how is that a bad thing?
During an interview for the News and Observer article, Symon pointed out a pair of luxurious overstuffed chairs in the coffee shop. The reporter described the scene this way:
During a recent stop at Starbucks on Peace Street in Raleigh’s Glenwood South neighborhood, Simon pointed out two big, royal purple chairs positioned in one corner. The comfy chairs offered a chance for respite; the royal purple color and velvety fabric oozed opulence and affluence.
At the store at the corner of Maynard and Chapel Hill Road in Cary, Simon explained how the napkins, featuring a message about recycling, give customers a stake in the do-good Starbucks image.
Again, I say, “So what?” I really don’t get why providing customers an experience that hints at prosperity or affluence is necessarily a bad thing. Don’t fine dining restaurants do the same thing with fare that is outside the norm of people’s every day dining experience? At the say time, encouraging people to recycle is hardly a crime, or anywhere near being radical or revolutionary. I could almost see Professor Symon’s concern if the napkins carried quotes from Chairman Mao.
I guess I’m going to have to read Professor Symon’s book to get the full message he is trying to deliver. But to me, it almost looks like another attack on a successful company that has violated some unwritten law about what is allowed in the pursuit of success. Anyone who has read this blog for a while knows that I have my own issues with corporate America, and the greed surrounding capitalism. But in this case, Starbucks is constantly listed as one of the best places to work in this country. And that designation comes from their employees. So they get a little leeway from me.
Speaking of which, it’s time to bring this post to a close. I have to get to my local Starbucks, where the baristas know me by name, for my daily contribution to corporate shills.
 Different Perspective I decided to do something a little different for this week’s Sunday Scenery post. One of my favorite forms of photography is the creation of abstract images using mundane subjects and capturing them in a unique way. This image was created by shooting a building with reflective glass in the windows. The reflection is a sister building across the drive from my subject. I think it creates an interesting study in shapes, colors and textures.
A Milestone (of sorts)
This post represents the 401st entry in Tarheel Ramblings. It’s hard to believe that over two years have passed since I started this blog. There have been a lot of ups and downs…thankfully more ups than downs…and a lot of people have visited these pages. I look forward to a continued relationship with those who honor me with their visits. I think I’ve found a renewed sense of excitement in sharing my photography and my random ramblings. That means 2010 should be a very good year.
|
I Love Comments Comments are the life-blood of any blog, and I want you to know that every one that is left here is appreciated beyond words. Even if I don't directly reply to your comment, I will do my best to return the favor of your visit and take time to check out your latest post.
Tarheel Rambler
|
|
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_b.png?x-id=58e8c15f-7d25-4a8e-9895-a0a9cd481cfb)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_b.png?x-id=7dd50c0b-0867-41bf-9ab8-92677657f189)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=b6a50ccc-3345-4a2c-93e0-cc69aa01688d)
