Things that Rankle

Persistent Irritation. We all have them. Things, situations, personalities who grate like a fingernail across a blackboard. I got to thinking that I'd make a list of those things, situations and personalities so that I could quit allowing them to fester.

• First would be stalkers. I've had two in my life. One person passed away earlier this month. That means one down, one to go.


• Second would be poseurs. Poseurs can be people who act as if you're their friend so long as you can do something for them or buy them something. They act as if the very earth revolves around them and their tales of woe and gossip. If they're not draining you emotionally, they're complaining about everyone they know. And Poseurs seem to know what everyone else "should" or "ought" do. They want to give directions to everyone else and won't look into the mirror to see what they've done with their lives. Poseurs favorite words are "I, me, my, and mine."


• Third would be people who have no financial plan worked out so that they can accomplish what they say the want to do. What appears to be a small financial problem is in reality a huge financial disaster. This is the type who asks a friend for financial assistance so that the water (or other utility) won't be cut off, with promises to repay from the next paycheck, and then promptly forgets to repay. These people act as if they don't expect the same bills to come due every month. And their financial situation is the fault of their rent and utilities and car insurance and upkeep and all their financial responsibilities but never their own lack of planning.


• Fourth would be people who throw used disposable diapers anywhere they please. There is nothing as disgusting as seeing or smelling a fouled disposable diaper that wasn't wrapped and placed in a trashcan. I've seen them everywhere a person can go. It's totally gross. And not much grosses me out, but dirty disposable diapers do.


• Fifth, I will never understand why people can drink a six-pack while driving around or sitting in some secluded spot and then toss their empty bottles or cans out the car window or leave them in that secluded spot. First of all, drinking and driving is a game of Russian Roulette. You may not end up dead the first time, but your chances of screwing up your life and the lives of those in your car increase exponentially every time you mix drinking and driving. In other words, it's a stupid action that normally sane people engage in. If you're afraid of the police finding an open container in your car, maybe it's because you know what you're doing is against the law and ethically wrong. If you must drink, do not drive after drinking. Find a buddy who is willing to stay sober (drink nothing with alcohol in it) and drive you home. AND take those bottles and cans to a recycling station and drop them off there.


• Sixth, litterers. People who toss a candy wrapper, an empty cigarette pack, cigarette butts, bottle tops, ring-tops, bags and wrappers from fast food establishments, those plastic bags from stores, and generally anything not bolted down. You go to an area that you think is pristine and what do you find? Litter! You climb up a mountain thinking that people who have climbed there will pack out what they packed in and what do you find? Litter! It makes me want to run down the middle of the street, pulling my hair out of my head, and screaming my lungs out. That is how much litterers upset me.


• Seventh, people who steal. I totally detest people who steal from others. The thief has no excuse. This is the USofA. Anyone can grow up to be President. It doesn't take much to be successful here. Stay in school. Study hard. Be honest. Work hard. Earn the money for what you want. I get really rankled when I read about some thief taking something that doesn't belong to him. Thieves are thoughtless, callous, selfish individuals.


• Eighth, people who use illicit drugs. What is with people that they actually want to put poison in their bodies to get some kind of chemical "high?" It's more stupid than drinking and driving. It's insane. Meth and cocaine and heroin and even marijuana create havoc with a person's body. A person screws up his body for a momentary "high?" That's just plain insane. You want a high? Climb a mountain, kayak whitewater, rappel down a mountain. There are thousands of things that a person can be involved in which will give him a sense of accomplishment and a "natural high" that's priceless.
  
  I'll tell you what I learned about smoking marijuana. This is something you won't hear from people trying to convince you to 'just try it once.' When you smoke marijuana, it creates a chemical at the ends of your brain synapses. This chemical turns into a sticky resin-like substance. The more often you smoke, the faster the substance grows until it covers the synapse. Later, when you try to use your brain, the messages that normally pass from one set of synapses to another either can't get through the resin-like substance or bounce off the substance and connect to an unrelated synapse. This in effect makes the marijuana smoker "goofy" or "act like a 17 year old in heat" or may be a cause of adult attention disorders. The brain of a person who has used marijuana extensively looks very similar to a child with "shaken baby syndrome."
  

So those are a few of the things that rankle me. Do you have anything to add?