That Car is on Fire, Bush Can Read, and Kicking Back

Talk about a way to really start the week off (ok the week technically started yesterday but it was a Federal holiday so deal with it)! I hadn’t even parked my car this morning when I noticed the smoke in the garage next door.

At first I thought it was just a car idling, but then there was just too much “exhaust” for that. Then I thought it was the construction crew in the garage at work with a machine of some sort, but there was no accompanying noise. Finally I got out of the car and checked it out. Sure enough there were flames on the ground underneath this green Ford Taurus parked on ramp leading up to the 2nd level. As I got up there a woman who had parked nearby was already on the phone with 911 reporting the incident. I’ll keep the rest of the details short (I got a fire extinguisher from the construction crew but it did no good and eventually the fire department came and put out the flames but not before it engulfed the whole car and created a thick cloud of black smoke in the garage). What really bothers me is that while we were trying to asses the size of the fire and then get the professionals there to put it out, people kept driving right by it without a single thought to stop and try to help. Then when I and another good samaritan started to redirect traffic while we were waiting for the firefighters, drivers actually tried to drive around us past the fire. Just how stupid/callus/uncaring are you to see these flames and smoke and think that either a) you don’t need to find another place to park or b) you shouldn’t stop and see if you can help? These people all get the middle finger and I only help that you are never in need of assistance because I can’t guarantee that somebody will be there when you need it.

Speaking of idiots who are in need of assistance, our beloved President did a photo op with local DC area kids at the MLK library downtown yesterday in honor of Martin Luther King’s birthday. While there he read a book to the little children. My question is did he read to them or they to him? Furthermore perhaps the press office should not be putting the President in any setting where he has to read. Do we remember what he was doing the morning of 9/11? Also I want to know why we celebrate Dr. King’s birthday instead of the date of his assassination. I don’t want to “celebrate” the assignation…but why is that not the date in which we honor his memory and rededicate ourselves to his ideals? I guess it’s not all that important since we are honoring him and helping to move forward his ideals but it’s just interesting. The same thing goes for Lincoln.

On a recent airline trip, the flight crew requested (after take off) that we “kick back, relax and enjoy the flight.” This was a very nice greeting and probably meant to put us at easy for a late flight but it made me think (what doesn’t these days), that it is overly hard to “kick back” in a coach seat. There is just enough leg room to squeeze into the seat as it stands now much less “kick back”. Further expanding this, have you ever been sitting in coach and the jerk in front of you decides that he has the right to recline his seat as far back as possible regardless of your discomfort. Yes, the seats recline when you push that button; we all know that. But we also know that you shouldn’t recline all the way back if someone is sitting behind you because it’s not polite. Well this flight I was on was completely full…so using the above argument, even if I wanted to kick back and relax, I couldn’t.