Do you have the answers to my questions?Date: 7/9/2014 I get to be professionally ignorant in this job. I’m actually allowed not to know everything and asking questions is part of my business. The following are a number of queries for which I’m seeking answers.
Why is it political candidates send me emails imploring me for coverage but when I call the campaign staffers who sent me the email they run me through a battery of questions indicating they have no idea who I am or the newspapers for which I write?
And why is it they seek coverage in western Massachusetts but apparently are ignorant about the region and its issues?
What’s the real deal about food sell by dates? I recently went to a market in Greenfield where almost everything they carried was past the sell by date. It was a little disturbing. Aren’t the dates supposed to keep us safe from spoiled food? This market had a last chance clearance section and I wondered where do those food items go from here?
Why is it acceptable for elected officials to keep people waiting at a press event? Granted, they know we will tolerate abuse in the name of obtaining a story, but sometimes I just want to walk out. I’ve often thought some elected officials like to keep ink-stained wretches such myself waiting.
If people feel brazen enough to smoke marijuana in public, why not make recreational use legal? Why not do what the Dutch do and legalize it for use in designated cafés?
Is playing your music in your car so loud that I have to shut the windows of my home in order to hear my own television set explainable? What are the excuses for this behavior?
When someone is doing something clearly wrong and you are pressed to point this out how come the response is usually a raised middle finger? Does anyone feel shame any more?
Is there any subject or situation that cannot be the subject of a reality TV show? By the way, the drama of a certain weekly newspaper company would be ideal tube fodder, as long as the managing editor is seen as the voice of reason.
Why flash messages on Interstate 91 that fireworks are illegal and there are fines and potential jail time for possession of fireworks when these laws are not enforced? Are the state police stopping people traveling to New Hampshire to search their cars for fireworks? Are local police responding to fireworks calls?
Why can’t people be honest about a job posting? People apply for a job in good faith only to learn later that an inside candidate had been already selected and the employment process was just a ruse.
Does anyone actually respond to all of the phony spam one gets almost every day? Is there anyone that ignorant to think the post office is contacting them on their work computer or a company with which they’ve never done business is offering a gift card?
Why is it I have to search for a legal parking spot, but the TV people can park their vehicles almost anyplace they want? I’ve never seen a parking ticket under their wiper, but I get in trouble if my quarter runs out. Perhaps my boss needs to paint my Hyundai in Reminder blue and white with our logo; perhaps that would help me.
How do people know that dogs like certain flavor combinations? We bought Lucky the Wonder Bichon some expensive fresh food – he can be a picky eater – and it was beef, bison, blueberries and spinach. While he initially ate it – I think he thought is was lunchmeat – he has since turned his nose up to it.
Is it a really a good idea to stand in the center of a busy intersection collecting money for a charity?
How come karma is so slow in delivering satisfaction? I know I shouldn’t complain, but I’ve been waiting for years for certain people to get their comeuppance.
If you have answers I’d love to hear them.
Agree? Disagree? Drop me a line at news@thereminder.com or at 280 N. Main St., East Longmeadow, MA 01028. As always, this column represents the opinion of its author and not the publishers or advertisers of this newspaper.
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