Even though you have a wonderful life, you still have the urge to rant and rave.

I saw a guy on TV the other night, ranting and raving about how the media refers to the people who tipped off the authorities about the Times Square shooter as “heroes.” He went on to say that they were concerned citizens, doing exactly what every good American citizen should do when faced with suspicions about illegal and dangerous activities, but not heroes in the true sense of the word. Even the mounted officer was referred to as a hero, doing the job he was paid to do. A hero, by definition, is a person who is admired or idolized for their courage, accomplishments, or outstanding accomplishments. Well, we appreciate his quick action, but where is the courage? A soldier who attacks an enemy position in the heat of battle, while risking his life to protect his comrades, can be considered a hero. A woman who physically helps another woman defend herself from an attacker, instead of standing around and yelling at the perpetrator, is, in my opinion, a hero. A policeman or firefighter who goes the extra mile and jeopardizes her own well-being beyond the call to rescue someone from imminent danger, now that’s a hero.

That’s what I’m talking about when it comes to ranting and raving. Are we just sheep, for crying out loud? Do we accept something simply because we read about it in the newspaper? Here it is, one of the worst economic downturns in the history of the United States and some of what we read is about public officials voting sizable raises for themselves. Sometimes as soon as they take office and without doing a day’s work at their new job. Are you kidding? They knew the salary when they took the job, but they didn’t say a word about it. They knew what they were about to do. We the public should have thrown them out the door as soon as we saw what they were doing. But did we? Someday.

Right now unemployment in this country is close to 10% and these disgusting manipulators in the public payroll discount the sensitivities of public payrolls and go ahead and vote themselves a raise. How dare they? I thought that being a public servant was an opportunity to have a secure job with a pension, to not earn more than the people who pay you, and not to accumulate compensation for sick days and unused vacation days to increase the payment of your pension. to amounts befitting a monarch of a small kingdom. But these arrogant and greedy individuals don’t think about trying to acquire additional compensation for jobs they are already overpaid for. Are we going to do something about it? Finally.

I think everyone will agree that Bernie Madoff got exactly what he deserved, almost. I’m sure we can all think of additional punishments that we think should have piled up to make his life hell. What about the guy who scammed a Long Island North Shore school district out of millions of dollars, was able to collect his $174,000+ pension while in prison, continues to collect his pension, and spent just under four years behind bars from a measly 4 -12 year sentence. This arrogant criminal is just one of many involved in this recent scandal. There are many more if he investigates the Roslyn School District.

What about the law that tells every driver to signal when making a lane change? I always try to obey the law, but sometimes, due to the pressure of traffic conditions, I need to change lanes to get to an exit and I refuse to signal. Signaling a lane change, especially when the need to change lanes involves making or missing an exit, is like signaling a guarantee that you will not succeed. Because once the first blink occurs, it alerts the car to its rear oblique that an intruder is about to fill the space in front of them, and they speed up to stop it from making its move. If you want to test this theory when you’re not in a hurry, signal to change lanes when you see enough space to do so and watch that space close in seconds. It works all the time.

To people over sixty: Have you ever noticed that young people react to what you say in the same way that you reacted to those boring stories that boring old people told you when you were a child?

For People Over Forty: Did you ever realize how easy and uncomplicated your life would be if you just listened to an older person about buying a new car, for example?

To people in their twenties: Do you ever read a newspaper or watch a newscast?

To the people with the latest cell phone technology: Enough is enough. Put them away and talk to the people around you. No, I don’t want to see your photos, your special applications or things on the Internet. I have a cell phone, a camera and a computer of my own. Do you want to sit back and watch me take photos, answer my calls and do my work?

Each of us has at least one pet peeve, and some of us have more than others. I am the last. Here we go again. I pull into a public car park behind the town hall in Oyster Bay to find a parking space so I can pay my taxes. Am I in some dream state? All the good places are reserved; in fact, ALL spots on a lot are reserved. Does anyone in government care to give the public even an iota of respect at any level? I know city employees need parking, but hey, has anyone ever thought maybe the public does too?

Have you ever found yourself thanking the cashier when he gave you change, but got no response?

Have you ever held the door open for someone who doesn’t even knock on the door but instead walks silently as if hired by the building?

Hey you cold-hearted idiot, you see me slowly following behind you in my car as you walk towards yours. You know the lot is crowded and I need your space. Do you mind acknowledging me and letting me know if we’re getting close? To make matters worse, they then cross parked cars to get to theirs in another lane. Even worse. Once inside their vehicle, they do a million things before leaving.

If you think I’m being petty, you’re not admitting to feeling the same frustrations every day. It’s like walking into a gas station to get the advertised low price of gas in bulk, only to discover these words on the pump in very small print: cash only. Do people still pay cash for gas? Who wears so much?

This column hasn’t even scratched the surface. Airport direction signs, misleading advertising disclaimers, supermarket prices, respect for older drivers, honesty; the list is endless.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a very happy person, but there’s something important about ranting and raving. It has a valuable purpose. If it wasn’t for this activity in our lives, we wouldn’t have laws governing cell phones for calling and texting while driving, Leandra’s law and the like. To correct the mistakes, we have to rely on the ravings and ravings of people like me to bring out the inequalities of life and I am very happy that I can be of service.

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