Did I Hit Something?

Respect your elders or else; but will they respect you?

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I was listening to talk radio this morning and the subject began on Fred Thompson. I like Fred; so I kept listening. He's to the point and tells it like he sees it. That's cool. I would rather that than someone only saying what I want to hear while I am looking and doing something completely different when it counts. Go for it Fred!


Then came "elderly driving: how old is too old." Apparantly, TN has no limitations. This issue squared off with "motorcycle riding without helmets." I listening to passionate calls for each issue. The one that stuck out to me was a response about "responsibility." To paraphrase, we should be "responsible" as children of parents, good citizens, concerned neighbors to notice when someone too old is behind the wheel. Obviously, age effects us all differently. Of course the elderly don't want to lose their independence; but someone must be responsible and make the hard calls. The other issue...which is worse, old drivers or no motocycle helmets. There are alot more older drivers and that means that the rest of us aren't wearing helmets. The stats are terrifying. See for yourself. Maybe you are aware of this recent story:

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By Robert Davis and Anthony DeBarros, USA TODAY DALLAS — As his 90-year-old neighbor struggled last May to set out on a morning drive to the store, David Prager began to worry.

Elizabeth Grimes, a widow who had lived on Meaders Lane for 50 years, had backed out of her driveway, across her lawn and off the curb. Her 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis then hit the curb across the street, Prager recalls, before Grimes mistook the gas pedal for the brake and "took off with a jackrabbit start."

Six blocks away, Grimes drove through a red light. The car slammed into Katie Bolka, a 17-year-old high school junior who was driving to school to take an algebra test. Five days later, Bolka died. ...more...

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But you know and I know; had someone interceeded or spoken up, they would have been labeled as "nosy busybodies" or "do gooders" or "whatever." Why would we not care if any elderly driver is capable of making good driving decisions while my child is crossing the street or driving to the market? We had to go through tests to get the lisence — would you want a brain surgeon who hadn't been checked recently?


Driving is a privilidge; not a right. It's unfortunate that as Americans, it would seem that EVERYTHING is our right! God forbid anyone or anything should remotely question anything we do or say; yet we look around at Vtech and other incidents and wonder why.......Hmmmm...but that's another blog. For the most part, our children are becoming who we said they could be...undisciplined, disrespectful, question everything, answer to noone, trust noone, if it feels good do it, just do what's right for you, etc. Equally bad, I see these horrible commercials by cell phone companies implying that "mom" has to get a second job to pay for everybody's else's, including dad's — who somehow is cheering with the kids, not his wife who is off to work as a taco....there's something wrong with these messages; but that's another blog too.

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