i can haz speek n spell ?

Burning questions of the day:

• Why do people/organizations/agencies waste money on signs for rules they never intend to enforce?
• Why do people think its OK to chain smoke in close proximity to infants, toddlers, and pregnant women?
• Is the particular offender I have in mind illiterate, ignorant, or just so arrogant that he serially ignores said signs, puffing away in clear sight of at least a dozen of them?

I try not to judge smokers-- individuals have the right to do what they will unto their own bodies-- indulging it, taking it for granted, and in many cases, poisoning it along the way. Hell-- I started smoking when I was 14; when I was a teenager and through most of college I smoked nearly a pack a day; and only recently have I seriously cut it out of my life (Now it's a pack every three or four months, but I still smoke occasionally when I'm drinking).

The issue for me is how blatantly most smokers ignore their surroundings while they're indulging. Smokers have a direct impact on other people around them. Personally, I almost never smoke unless I'm alone or with another smoker and I'll brave arctic tornados over smoking inside. More importantly, I never, ever, ever do it around kids or babies. I think, by all means, smoke yourself to death, but show a little respect for the people around you.

There is a guy who rides the train with me nearly every afternoon. He's probably in his 50's and he wears a "Coach" jacket for one of the high schools in the area. Every single day that I see him, I watch him suck down a cigarette on the platform before boarding the train. Usually, he does it standing in front of a 4' tall "Absolutely No Smoking" sign. The platform is a semi-enclosed area and there are almost always other passengers waiting. I always know when we'll be riding together because I walk out of the stairwell and into a cloud of smoke comparable to the inside of a "yellow room" in the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport.

My message to Coach Cigabutts: Get your head out of your ass-- you're supposed to be a role model for America's youth, and these Townie brats need a positive example more than just about anyone else!