Hey college kids--you're pretty smart, can you at least TRY to keep yourself alive?

I live in a college town.  I love it.  It's a community where higher education is valued.  A community where there's lots of energy because there are so many 18-24 year olds.  Speakers and performers come to town that normally wouldn't even stop to gas up their buses in our tiny area if the college wasn't here.

However, there are times when the students...oh the students.  They kind of kill me.  I've noticed that many seem to lack a self-preservation gene.  I present to you the following examples:

1.  This morning on three (three!) separate occasions students stepped right off the curb onto the crosswalk in front of my moving vehicle without so much as turning their head in the direction of on coming traffic. Nope, not even a break in their stride. (And yes, I am now singing "Ain't nothin' gonna to break my stride.  Nobody's gonna slow me down, oh-no I got to keep on moving".)  Come on people, every now and then help a driver out, heck, help yourself out, look up from the phone and toward the heavy machinery moving rapidly toward you!


2.  Last night G and I were on campus, it was around 7:45 and, since it's February, it was about 30 degrees outside and snowing lightly.  I'm wearing a coat and gloves, G has on her coat, hat and snowboots and we're chatting about how cold it is outside.  As we're wandering around a lovely young lady walks past.  And yes, I can say she was lovely because I got a very good look at her since she was only wearing a thin top, a skirt that hit her in the upper thigh area and no tights.  For a brief moment, I thought, seriously?  Is there a street corner where you'll be standing in a few minutes trying to earn a little tuition money?  Then I remembered we don't live in that kind of town.  Instead I realized she believes either her general hotness and/or righteous indignation will provide a protective heat layer until she arrives at her destination.  Good luck with that! 

3.  While in a campus building the other day I saw a student who had sort of set up shop on the floor near an outlet, into which he had plugged his laptop.  He's sitting on the floor, presenting the kind of sight you'd see in an airport perhaps.  Back against the wall, laptop on his legs, backpack on one side, jacket and book on the floor on the other side along with a can of soda and a can of Pringles.  Sure, fine dude-bro, if that works for you I'm cool with it.  I see that he has taken a stack of Pringles out of the can (and why wouldn't he?  They are delicious!) and is picking one off the top of the stack to eat.  Only his "snack stack" as we'll call it, is DIRECTLY. ON. THE. FLOOR.  I just threw up a little in my mouth typing that.  You see the sacrifices I make for you, my precious 1.3 readers?  Oh yes, the snack stack is on the same ground that gets walked on hundreds of times each day and maybe mopped with a dirty mop once a week.  For a brief moment I contemplated walking toward his set up and then pretending to trip so I could squash the snack stack, thus grinding it into the layer of dirt, gum residue, and poo that is on any popular public floor but I figured I'd let nature take its course.  Perhaps today he's at home throwing up thinking, "was it something I ate?"  And yes, dude-bro.  I'm pretty sure it was something you ate.

So, to summarize, (and sound like a grumpy old woman) look up before you cross the street!  Put on a coat!  Don't eat off the floor!  To make it complete I guess I should add you kids get off my lawn!

Take care, more run on sentences and random tangents to come in a few days!
April