Over The Years Starbucks Has Been The Subject Of Many Of My Blogs

This is a re-posting of a Starbucks Blog Postings from June 27, 2010. It is a Fella Favorite and it is historically accurate…Or is it?

Little Mr. Starbucks Asks His Father For A Little Help

A Journey Back Into Coffee History

Little Mr. Starbucks goes to his father and asks to borrow $10,000. He wants to use the money to invest in a bright idea that he has been kicking around in the back of his mind. He is sure that this idea of his will be his life’s work.

Father Starbucks was always supportive of his son since he was born right through his years of higher education in one of the finest school in the east. He knew that he was going to do whatever his son asked. He eagerly inquired how his boy was going to use the $10,000 as he reached for his checkbook.

Here is the back and forth conversation that took place about the plan of action Little Mr. Starbucks laid out for his ever more wide eyed father, as his father slipped his checkbook back into his pocket…

• Father … “You are going to do what?”
• Son … “I want to open up a coffee shop and spend my life selling people coffee, a cup at a time.”
• Father … “You mean to tell me that, after I devoted my life to you and took out a second mortgage on our modest family home in order to put you through that fancy snotty school back east, you are going to spend your life with an apron on selling cups of coffee?”
• Son … “That’s right, pop. I just know there is a world of money to be made out there in coffee cups.”
• Father … “Where are you going to set up the gold mine of a coffee shop?”
• Son … “I’m going to rent space in the shopping mall downtown.”
• Father … “You mean to tell me that you are going to pay the exorbitant rent that businesses are charged in that mall? Are you aware, my educated idiot son, that in order to just break even, you are going to have to sell a lot of cups of coffee? Don’t forget you are going to have to pay salaries and benefits, buy supplies and pay that sky high rent just to crack your nut!”
• Son … “Daddy, I have thought through all of the costs that you have just mentioned. I have that covered in my business plan. I am going to charge a lot for my cups of coffee!”

At this point Father Starbucks climbed across the dining room table and started to strangle junior. 

After Mother Starbucks had locked Father Starbucks in the bedroom closet to cool off overnight, she loaned Little Mr. Starbucks the $10,000 for his bright idea and the rest is coffee history.

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

The Courts Have Gone To The Dogs

I know some of you have pets that you love dearly. I, also, know some of you will send me hate mail because I think it is Stupid to...

Ø Spend $300,000.

Ø 5 years in court.

Ø To “earn” a $39,000 judgment.

Ø On a doggoned case for a pet that the court valued at $10.

 

It ain’t over yet. That fat Lady has not sung. The case is On Appeal.

 

The lawyers are laughing all the way to the bank.

------------------------

Article Below Was Written by Anita Hamilton

(I shortened this article a bit.)

Woof, Woof, Your Honor

It's no joke. Animal lawsuits are gaining respect as pet owners seek justice for the ones they love.

With his sad brown eyes and soft, floppy ears, Marley, a 2-year-old Boxer, is the kind of dog that's hard to resist. Just ask his co-owner Ashley Wilson, a music director at a Seattle rock station. After splitting up with her live-in boyfriend, Todd Templeton, just before Christmas last year, Wilson and Templeton exchanged Marley informally every week. Then, last August, according to a lawsuit filed by Wilson, Templeton abruptly ended the arrangement and kept Marley.

 

Instead of giving up or just getting a new dog, Wilson joined the growing ranks of animal lovers who are filing lawsuits over their pets. After consulting Adam Karp, a lawyer in Bellingham, Wash., who says he has handled about 100 animal-related cases in the past four years, Wilson filed suit in late October. She has already won at least a temporary victory. Last month a superior court judge ordered the exchanges to resume immediately, pending a final ruling. (Templeton declined to comment on the case.) About seeing Marley for the first time in three months, Wilson says, "His tail was wiggling out of control. I just hugged him and started to cry."

 

While going to court to resolve a pet-custody dispute may seem extreme, it is just one of the legal options available to protect animals and the people who care for them. Veterinary-malpractice suits, pet-cruelty cases and even landlord-tenant disputes over animals are reaching the courts as well. In New York City, Cindy Adams, a gossip columnist for the New York Post, has called for legislation that would ensure better conditions at dog kennels after her Yorkshire terrier Jazzy died, allegedly at a kennel. Some 23 states now allow enforceable pet trusts, in which people set aside money in their will for the care of their pet. And when it comes to animal cruelty, more than 40 states have felony-level charges that virtually ensure jail time for serious offenders. "The courts are beginning to realize that the bond between humans and animals is very powerful," says Steven Wise, a lawyer and animal-rights advocate who has written two books and taught a Harvard Law School course on the subject.

 

Some pet cases have reaped surprisingly large awards. Marc Bluestone of Sherman Oaks, Calif., won a $39,000 jury award last February after Shane, his mixed-breed Labrador retriever, valued by the court at $10, died just days after coming home from a two-month stay in a pet clinic. Although the suit took five years, cost more than $300,000 in legal fees and is on appeal, Bluestone says it was all worth it: "I can't get my baby back, but I did get justice."

 

Once the domain solely of activists, animal law has steadily gained respect among law schools and legal scholars since 2000, when Wise's first book, Rattling the Cage, provided an academic argument for granting legal rights to animals. Now some 40 law schools offer courses on the topic.

 ------------------------

The Bottom Line

This is Fella again…I can hear it now, “I’m sorry Mr. Simpson. We would like to grant you a speedy trial, as called for in either The Constitution or the Bill of Rights, but the courts are full to the brim at this time with animal rights cases. Your trial will have to be postponed for several years until we can get a handle on all of these more important cases. I’m sure you understand. After all, animals are people too.”

 

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

 

Lagniappe: I don’t agree with this either (click below)... https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7910177/Vicar-gives-Holy-Communion-to-dog.html

This Is A Fella News Alert!

This is serious! I heard it with my own ears and I can’t believe what my ears heard! There appears to be no hope! ... I better slow down and let you catch up.

 

I was in a Glassy-Eyed State of Mind as I watched the news (this has started to happen more and more lately as I watch the news). I think it has something to do with ever present Constant News Hysteria. The Heads seem to always be in a constant state of panic as they shout things like this at me... “This Just In!” and “Breaking News!” and “This Is A News Alert!”

 

Come on, Guys, this is going beyond the pale (whatever that means). How many times do you expect Fella to get excited, especially when you send out so many False News Alerts?

 

Just the other day, as the Constant News Station was going on break I was hit with one of those Teaser Alarming Alarms that the station likes to give out to make you stay tuned till after the break. They always say the exciting news will be “next up” right after the break.

 

This time it was, “Jennifer and Chuck (those big time Hollywood Celebrities we all know and love) Call It Quits! Full Details Right After the Break!”

 

I could hardly contain myself and paced back and forth in anticipation all during the break. I kept thinking, “Oh no! They can’t be getting divorced! They are so right for each other!”

 

Then the let down came. First of all the Jennifer and Chuck News did not come right after the break. It came after 2 news stories that I was not interested in. Finally, I was not told about Jennifer and Chuck’s impending divorce at all. I was told that the happy couple had gotten a new Rescue Dog and they had named it “Quits”.

 

Back to my Glassy-Eyed State in paragraph 2 above...

As you all know, I am a Noticer. I am such an Accomplished Noticer that I have the ability to Notice in a Glass-Eyed State and this is what I Noticed this time.

 

We are all concerned about our Congress’ inability to stop spending money that we (they), or is it they (we), don’t have. There it was right in the middle of the Wide-Eyed Talking Head’s Talking, he said, “Senior Lawmakers in Charge of Spending”.

 

My Dear Readers, there’s the problem! There must be Members of Congress whose whole reason for being there is... To Spend Money. This is their charge! It’s part of their Congressional DNA! It’s why they were sent there in the first place! These people lay in bed at night, unable to sleep, thinking thoughts like, “Did I spend enough today? What if the Folks Back Home think I did not spend enough today? I feel so inadequate! I saw it there. I saw there was money left in the Public Treasury and I was too weak to reach down and grab it and squander it while I had the opportunity! I feel so inadequate! (Did I already think that?)”

 

I can’t prove that much of this Blog Posting was not Silly Embellishment and Foolish Conjecture on my part but I swear on my Little-Read Book I did hear the Wide-Eyed Talking Head say, “Senior Lawmakers in Charge of Spending”.

 

I’m sorry for all the Exclamation Points...Or am I?

 

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

 

Old Age Jumped Up And Slapped Me In The Face

I recently had a minor operation on my thumb. I had a Ganglion Cyst removed. It was not a lot of fun but I have had worse things happen to me.

Ganglion Cysts were once called Bible Bumps. They were called that because the bible was slammed down on them to burst them and make them temporarily go away. In the old days this passed for a Medical Treatment.

 

Right now my dear readers are saying to themselves, “Self, what does this have to do with Fella getting old?” I’m getting to that but first you have to have an understanding of what Merthiolate is…

 

I know I spelled it right because I copied the spelling off my bottle but Spell Check does not recognize it as a word...

Ø Antiseptic.

Ø The Traditional Family First Aid Antiseptic.

Ø Helps prevent infection in minor cuts, scrapes and burns.

 

It used to contain Mercury but Mercury is frowned upon these days so the bottle said it now comes in a, “Mercury Free Formulate”.

 

Now I know why I used to glow in the dark when I was a kid.

 

Here comes the Getting Old part...

I went in for my Ganglion Cyst post-op visit and I asked the very young Physician’s Assistant if I should dab the wound with Merthiolate. Did you take note that I said she was “very young”? She replied, “What’s Merthiolate?”

 

That did it. That young thing pushed me right off the downhill slide into the Old Abyss.

 

Actually I don’t feel a lot different but I know deep down I am a lot different.

 

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

 

Lagniappe: Mercurochrome was a similar product but unlike Merthiolate it did not sting when you put it on. Merthiolate, in its original form, actually did NOT sting and did NOT color the skin red. These features were added by Lilly because people "didn't believe it worked" unless they could see the markings and feel the sting.

 

Many shied away from it because of the sting. I personally always thought Medicine Had to Taste Bad (or Sting) To Be Good. I was one of those you wanted the sting but I can still hear my Brother shouting, “It Burns!” when my Mother dabbed him with Merthiolate.

 

If you are thinking I did not make fun of him, you don’t know anything about the loving relationship between little brothers and big brothers.

 

Mercurochrome contained Mercury also. My big brother and I slept in the same bed. Sometimes it was hard getting to sleep because the room was so lit up by our two glowing little bodies.

 

The Internet Has Taught Me A Lot

Some Of What I Have Learned

It is hard to imagine how ignorant I would be if all those people who claim to have invented the Internet had not invented the Internet.

 

Here is some of what I have learned from the Internet...

Ø I did not know Nigeria was such a rich country.

Ø Almost every day I receive an email or two from a Nigerian offering to give me a lot of money.

Ø I never dreamed Nigerians were so generous with their riches.

Ø Nigerians who want to give away millions of dollars ought to take a class in English as a Second Language before they start trying to give away vast fortunes to vast fortuneless people.

 

Federal Regulation Needed

The sad thing about all of this is the people who send out these phony giveaway emails would not be bothering to send them if they did not make money because they sent them.

 

This means that there are people who are stupid (note, I did not say “ignorant”) enough to believe that complying with the information requests from these Nigerian Princes is going to make them rich.

 

There ought to be a Federal Law that says anyone who is stupid (note, I did not say “ignorant”) enough to give away Sensitive Financial Information that results in their being fleeced by people they have never met ought not be allowed to have Sensitive Financial Information.

 

We need a Federal Department of Sensitive Financial Information Entitlement Control.

 

That ought to do it.

 

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

Degree Inflation Run Amuck

There exists today a common mindset among older white-collar workers: “I wouldn’t be hired today”. This often doesn’t have anything to do with their ability to perform their jobs. Rather, it’s a function of Degree Inflation. This is where employers demand a baccalaureate degree for middle-skill jobs that previously did not require one.

 

Some 61% of employers have rejected applicants with the requisite skills and experience simply because they didn’t have a college degree, according to a 2017 Harvard Business School study.

 

The authors believe, if current trends continue, “as many as 6.2 million workers could be affected by Degree Inflation—meaning their lack of a bachelor’s degree could preclude them from qualifying for the same job with another employer”.

 

Stop and let this sink in. No matter how good they are at the job for which they are applying, no matter how experienced they are and no matter how much value they could add to the company they want to work for, they will not get the job.

 

State and local laws impose additional limits...

Ø New York City prohibits employers from discriminating against the unemployed or asking about prior earning history.

Ø Twenty-nine states bar public employers from inquiring about criminal history and nine states prevent private employers from doing the same.

Ø Last year the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued CSX Transportation, a railroad company, because men passed the company’s applicant physical-fitness tests at a disproportionately higher rate than women.    
Allow me to expand on the last bullet point above. Who is the real culprit who created the discrimination in the bullet point above?...
>Was it Thomas Jefferson for planting false hopes in all of us by throwing around such willy-nilly phrases like “All men (certainly he meant, ‘all men and women’) are created equal”?

>Was it the fault of the physically fit parents of future physically fit job applicants who told them to get off the couch and go outside and climb a tree?
>Was it the fault of the future physically fit job applicants who got off the couch and went outside and made themselves physically fit?

 

If you understand the next 2 paragraphs, please use the Comments Section of this blog to explain them to me...

Yet degree inflation has obvious Disparate-Impact Implications (this is fella...huh?).    

When determining Disparate Impact Enforcement agencies often rely on the “four-fifths” rule of thumb: If the selection rate for any race, sex or ethnic group is less than four-fifths that of the group with the highest selection rate, Disparate Impact is likely. Some 61% of Asians in the labor force, age 25 and up, have a bachelor’s degree or higher, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Just under 40% of Whites have degrees, compared with 29% of Blacks and 20% of Hispanics. Under the four-fifths rule, college-degree requirements disproportionately affect White Workers when compared with Asians, and Black and Hispanic Workers when compared with Whites and Asians.

 

The Harvard Study also showed that College Graduates filling Middle-Skill Positions...

Ø Cost more to employ.

Ø Have higher turnover rates.

Ø Tend to be less engaged.

Ø Are no more productive than high-school graduates doing the same job.

 

Go back and read the above four bullet points again and then picture the looks on the faces of Widget R Us Board of Directors after the CEO makes the following statement, “These four bullet points prove conclusively that it makes no good business sense to continue with our policy of requiring College Degrees for Middle-Skill Positions. I now ask for a unanimous show of hands from this board certifying that we are in agreement about continuing our illogical policy of requiring College Degrees for Middle-Sill Positions. We should also incorporate this requirement into our Vision Statement so that future Boards of Directors will see the indefensible course of action that this Board has laid out and will be reluctant to ever attempt to rectify and/or correct the ill-fated and simply nutty path we have chosen today”.

 

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

 

I Made A Good Tennis Shot One Time And You Can Bet I Did Not Cry About It

There’s too Much Crying In Tennis

The Smartfella is a tennis player, of sorts. That being said, it is not strange that, to some degree, I watch the big tennis matches on television. Here is the degree to which I watch the big matches…

Ø I have watched every match that Novak Djokovic played in (before him it was Andy Roddick).

Ø Once they lost, I did not watch any more matches in that tournament, until the finals.

Ø Even in the finals, I only watch the end of the matches (unless it was shorter than I expected and I turned it on too late and then I miss the whole thing).

 

Here is the Smartfella‘s fondest tennis wish…

Ø I wish that when the final ball has bounced its final bounce, the winner, male or female (especially male), would not fall on the ground and start crying.

Ø It has been awhile since I have seen the triumphant champion smile, wave to the crowd and trot up to the net and shake hands with the vanquished opponent without losing it for the entire tennis world to see.

 

I can guarantee each and every one of you dear readers that, when I win my first Grand Slam Tournament, you will not see me on the ground crying, rolling around and getting up to blow kisses to my worshiping, adoring and weeping fans.

 

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

I Have Not Voted To Raise Your Taxes One Cent Since You Sent Me To Washington D.C. To Be Your Senator

Lying Without Anyone Noticing

In Europe people who think up new ways to tax are ahead of people who think up new ways to tax in the Good Ole USofA. Over in Europe forward thinking thinkers have instituted the Cow Flatulence Tax.

 

Denmark and Ireland were some of the first European countries to tax cattle owners. Each cow costs $18 in taxes in Ireland, while Denmark charges farmers $110 per cow.

 

The thinking of the Tax Passers in Europe is that this is what they have to do to save the planet...Or will it?

 

The “justification” for a Cow Flatulence Tax is that cows release Methane Gas which they contend is one of the Greenhouse Gases that Cause Climate Change.

 

The people who think of new ways to tax in the Good Ole USofA have been preoccupied with their successful efforts to change our terminology for taxing from “Taxes” to “Revenue Enhancements”. They have not gotten around to addressing Cow Flatulence Taxes as of yet.

 

At this point Congress is still denying that such a tax is something they will ever do in the Good Ole USofA. Denying that they will ever do something is Congress’ way of saying...Just You Wait.

 

The other day none other than Senator Snidley Whiplash himself pledged on the Senate Floor that he will never allow such a tax when he said, “I will never allow such an underhanded and unnecessary tax to be levied on the American Tax Payer”.

 

I happened to be in the Senate when he made this pledge. Actually I happened to be standing right behind him in my potted plant outfit when he made this pledge. From that vantage point I noticed that he had his hands crossed behind him and the first two fingers on both hands were crossed.

 

Immediately after making his pledge he left the Senate Floor. They always quickly leave the Senate Floor immediately after stating their position on anything for fear that they might hear what the opposition might have to say about what they had to say.

 

Many of these Senators have been in Congress so long that they are getting feeble and can’t get out of the Senate Chamber as fast as they once could. You can always tell which of them have been there for decades because they have their fingers in their ears as they do their best to escape that Hallowed Chamber.

 

I quickly changed into my Fly On The Wall Outfit and followed him to his office.

 

As soon as I grabbed the wall, I became aware that he was already laughing. I recorded what he said to his many aides on my very small fly-sized Smartphone. He said, “I did it again. I snookered the folks back home. I told the truth and lied at the same time and, as usual, they are certain to believe me. I can’t wait to tell Tip O’Neill (or whoever the current Speaker of the House is) at Happy Hour tonight about what I did. Of course, I’m not going to levy any ole Flatulence Tax on the tax payers. I’m going to levy it on the evil cattlemen who raise those evil cattle. If they choose to pass it on to the Tax Paying Folks Back Home, it won’t be my doing. They are going to keep voting for me until the evil cows come home. For a long time to come there are going to be birds pooping on my statues all over my home state, wherever that is.”

 

I wanted to go slap him on his face but people hardly ever notice Fly Slaps. It made me wish I had worn my Big Green Hulk Outfit but, when I do that, people notice me hanging there and hardly ever really open up and let out their true feelings.

 

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

 

Lagniappe: The Cow Flatulence Tax was passed about 9 years ago. In recent years the second shoe has dropped. They are now proposing (already passed?) a Red Meat Tax and it starts with a Beef Tax. Sounds like doubling up to Fella. Can the T-Bone Disposal Tax be far behind?

 

 

 

The United Kingdom Takes The Bull By The Horns

Government Needs To Learn To Distinguish Fly Chit From Pepper

Since Britain voted to leave the European Union more than a year ago, Continental Europeans have mockingly said that the decision will result in Britain becoming an isolated and lonely island nation.

 

Britain, in fact, already has a serious problem with loneliness. Research has found more than 9,000,000 people in Britain often or always feel lonely.

Back On January 17th Prime Minister Theresa May Appointed a Minister for Loneliness

Britain’s Office for National Statistics will help to establish a method of measuring loneliness and a fund was set up to help the government and charities develop a wider strategy to identify opportunities to tackle the problem.

 

A retired nurse from Berkshire, in southwest England, said she started to feel lonely when her son moved abroad and she downsized to a smaller house in a different county. She said, “It was a financial decision to move and I didn’t really have it in me to start making new friends.”

 

Just how would the Minister for Loneliness address this lady’s issues?...

Ø The government could possibly pay to move the son back to where Mum lives.

Ø If he refused to move back, the Minister for Loneliness would certainly have to put him in jail until he agrees to return.

Ø Because of the concerns Mum had about finances, the government ought to pay to get her a bigger house.

Ø The government certainly should consider paying to move her back to her old county.

Ø The Minister for Loneliness would have to coordinate the moving of the son back to where his lonely Mum is living but the Ministry would have to make sure it waited until it was finally decided whether Mum was going to move back to her old county or just get her new government paid for bigger house in her new county before the government moved the son to where she is living because lack of coordination could result in him being moved to her new county after she had moved to her old county. (I just knew this was going to get complicated.)

Ø Because of the potential for confusion described in the above bullet, Theresa May will certainly have to appoint a Minister for Loneliness Rectification Coordination to handle these kinds of issues for the Ministry.

Ø Since she does not have it in her to make new friends, the Minister for Loneliness is preparing Regulatory Requirements for issuing Compulsory Loneliness Elimination Compliance Notifications (CLECN’s) to send to all Mum’s neighbors within a 3 block radius of her new home, wherever that new home ends up being located, requiring that they become friends with Mum.

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The Fella’s Question of the Day...

Do Governments have to get involved in every aspect of their minion’s lives?

 

The Government’s Answer of the Day...

You betcha government does! If Government does not get involved in every aspect of their minion’s lives, who will?

 

From the Fella’s What’s Next? Department...

Ø Minister for Talking Too Much?

Ø Minister for Yawning at Inappropriate Times?

Ø Minister for Burping?

 

I shudder to think about it.

 

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

Increase In Pedestrian Deaths. Self-Driving Cars Are The Problem...Or Are They?

I once blogged that, that if all Smartphones disappeared overnight, the Federal Government would have to spend billions teaching drivers to drive with both hands on the steering wheel. That was silly...Or was it?

That lady walking her bike across the street in Arizona was killed by a Self-Driving Car and some blame the Self-Driving Car.

 

Arizona has banned Uber from testing of Self-Driving Cars in the state.

 

If the technology of the Self-Driving Car should be able to detect a Jay-Walking Pedestrian in the shadows, the Fella agrees the Self-Driving Car should have detected her presence but he also says we ought not get carried away with blaming, attacking and “doing something” about Self-Driving Cars. The real problem is right in front of us...

Pedestrians and Cars Driven By Human Beings Are the Problem

Don’t get excited, allow me to develop my daring to blame walking people. First, some statistics...

1.   Pedestrians were victims of about 15% of traffic fatalities in 2017, with the roughly 6,000 pedestrian deaths representing a level not seen in 25 years.

2.   Regulators are reckoning with a sudden rise in traffic deaths that follows a decade long improvement in highway safety.

3.   Pedestrian fatalities rose 27% from 2007 to 2016.

4.   Drivers are dealing with increasing distractions in the cabin of their cars (“Dealing With”...Huh? Drivers are looking at their Smartphones!).

5.   Americans are putting more miles on their vehicles amid a strong economy and low gasoline prices.

6.   There is an increase in both the number of people walking and driving.

7.   More people are using Smartphones both while driving and walking (see #4 above).

8.   There is a rise in drugged driving.

9.   75% of pedestrian fatalities occurred after dark and more than 70% occurred in travel lanes away from intersections.

10.        Some are working on ways to alert pedestrians via an application that a Self-Driving Car is about to cross their path.
>“Some” ought to be working on an application to warn that driver with a Smartphone in hand is about to cross their path.

 

If your neck of the woods is the same as my neck of the woods, this is what is going on out in your woods...

 

Jay Walking

Ø The Fella believes the most important of all the key points made above was missed by 83.7% of you. (I made up the 83.7%. There is no factual basis for this percent.)

Ø The most important key point is in #9, “70% occurred in travel lanes away from intersections” ... in other words, they were Jay Walking.

Ø We are seeing a dramatic increase in Jay Walking where I live.

Ø For me it started a few years ago when I saw someone Jay Walking and I was surprised because it was a long time since I had seen a Jay Walker.

Ø Now I see them every day.

Ø The other day I saw a mother Jay Walking as she ran across a large busy street eating a sandwich with one hand and leading her 2 children with the other hand.

Ø She had one of her children by the hand but the other had gotten disconnected from his sister’s hand and was lagging behind.

Ø He probably let go because he was shocked that his mother would be so stupid as to run across such a heavily traveled street.

Ø As with many of these Jay Walking Dare Devils, this mother and her kids were within a few car lengths of a Crossing Lane at the end of the block complete with Walk/Don’t Walk Signals.

 

I said above that the Uber Car should have detected the lady pushing the bike but a car driven by an old-fashioned human being would probably not have been able to avert hitting her. As I said, she was Jay Walking, it was Night Time (10pm), she was In Shadows and she appeared in view Only a Moment Before She Was Hit. Click below to see for yourself...

https://twitter.com/TempePolice/status/976585098542833664

 

Stop Signs

Ø My woodland friends pay little or no attention to Stop Signs.

Ø Many times I check my rear view mirror when I stop at a Stop Sign to make sure that I am not about to get rear-ended by the driver behind me because he does not expect me to be coming to a complete stop at a Stop Sign.

Ø I once stood back from the Stop Sign, which exits our subdivision onto a highway, and watched to see if the brake lights came on to confirm if they had even tapped the brakes. There was no tapping.

Ø I have been the lead car going onto this same highway in front of 4 other cars. When I pull out onto the highway, the 4 cars following me come right with me, bumper to bumper, as if they were making a turn on a NASCAR track.

 

Speed Limits

Ø Speed Limits are not completely ignored...Or are they?

Ø There are times I am passed by cars that are going so fast that I think my engine has quit and I have had to stop myself from opening the door and getting out to see what’s wrong with my car.

 

Yea, I know I’m old fashioned. Yea, I know I am behind the times. Yea, I know I am in danger of being the victim of road rage because I made an unexpected stop at Stop Sign or I’m only going 50 in a 45 MPH Speed Zone but I am the way I am.

 

Wish me luck.

 

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

 

Lagniappe: It has been estimated that if 90% of vehicles in the U.S. were Self-Driving Cars as many as 4.2 million accidents could be avoided, saving 21,700 lives and $450 billion in related costs. The way we make knee-jerk laws in the Good Ole USofA don’t be surprised if we see Foghorn Leghorn stand up in the Senate any day now and propose that we outlaw Self-Driving Cars because that lady was killed in Arizona by one of those Evil Self-Driving Cars.