Here are some of your responses to Mike's last column, compiled by Lassette Canady, a FOX News intern ...
Sam G. writes: After reading several of your columns on Obliviots, there is a question I'm hoping you can answer: Are Obliviots born that way or did they have to learn how to be one? With more and more money being spent on education these days, why not teach a few courses on situational awareness? There could be a basic course in elementary school and continued through high school. There is only one lesson to learn, which should be emphasized every few years, and that is to have some common sense. For example, don't make 11 separate orders at a fast food drive-through, go inside to place the order. See? It's that simple. And Mike, c'mon man, why did you pay those contractors if they still had cleanup to do?
S. Aannestad writes: I think the most "Oblivions" are in the grocery store. They're the ones who either leave their cart smack-dab in the middle of the aisle so that there's no room to pass on either side (this happens often when they're on their cell phones), or they leave their cart smack-dab across the entrance to an aisle. Major Grrr. Had to share that. Thanks, I feel better.
Normal in N.J. Grrrs: Hello Mike, Grrr! to the woman/caregiver in the waiting room of a national music program for kids in N.J. who clipped every fingernail with a clipper and let them fall onto the waiting room's floor. We're not talking a "oh, I need a little fix or trim/emergency event. It was clip-clip-clip-clip, etc. Siblings come along to this place and roam this room as well. Bizarre, bizarre, bizarre. Did I say Grrr?
Brendan from "Base X" writes: I often wonder what (if anything) goes through people's heads when they do what they do that is just plain stupid. Want to know why I Grrr on a daily basis? Bringing hyperactive kids to the workplace and just thinking "it's cute." People bring their kids in and they run around like sugar-crazed madmen hitting fax machine buttons, grabbing fire extinguishers (and nearly killing themselves in the process) and doing anything that is just generally annoying or just plain dangerous. What's worse is that it's usually someone higher ranking so it isn't like you can actually tell them their child is annoying. I assure you being on a military base there is no "Bring Your Child to Work Day." And if there is, and I just don't know about it, I'll be taking leave that day.
J. Ford writes: My Grrr is Brad's announcement that he and "Angie" won't wed until everyone is legally able to do so. Hello? They have, what, three divorces between the two of them? Maybe the gesture would be more "profound" if they hadn't already used the system they now mock.
Kristi M. writes: Grrr! to Brad Pitt and his response to marrying Angelina Jolie by saying they'll get married when all Americans can marry whom they choose. What is that? I'm sure his new children will really appreciate that he doesn't respect their mother or the institute of marriage enough to marry the woman. I'm sure the president and judges will change their minds and allow all parties to marry whomever they choose, just so Brad Pitt can make an honest woman out of Angelina Jolie. And Grrr! to Jolie for standing for it. What a joke. I'm forever amazed at how many celebrities are so outspoken about being able to marry whomever you love no matter what their gender is, yet these same people can't even stay married, citing "irreconcilable differences." It's proof that they don't value marriage anyway, so in my opinion they have no right to weigh in on the issue. Oh, I forget … for instant gratification in Hollywood the fun is in getting married not being married.
Nikki in Watertown, Mass., writes: School is back in session and on my way to work I drive through two school zones with big yellow lights, flashing: "20 MPH -- School Zone," about 100 yards up it ends. Why do people refuse to slow down? It ticks me off every morning because hardly anyone observes the reduced speed limit -- people cruise past me, tailgate and occasionally flash their high beams for me to drive faster. Does some oblivion have to hit and possibly kill a kid before they slow down? At the stop light at the end of the school zone, I usually catch up with all the traffic that just blazed past me so they're not even saving time. Grrr!
Angie in New Orleans writes: I have taken to calling people out who get upset that someone calls them "ma'am” or "sir” because they are not "old enough for that." I heard a girl say that the other day and it made my skin crawl, especially given the fact that she is a teacher. "Sir” and "ma'am” are not titles that have anything to do with age. They are titles that show a person has respect for others, and everyone should be using them. Losing something as simple as calling a female "ma'am” means losing a lot more in the long run, and I believe is a starting point of the bigger problem of Oblivions in general.
Shane writes: Every now and then I get the newspaper at a national chain bookstore so I can do the crossword puzzle at lunch. And almost every time I go to the counter to pay for the paper, the scanner can never read the barcode. So, I typically have to wait for the clerk to mumble and fumble about until a supervisor comes around to manually key the barcode into the computer. Now, it wouldn't be so bad if it only happened once, but it happens nine times out of 10, so you'd think every employee would know this by now. But you know what the best part is? On the day that the scanner actually read the barcode for once, the clerk stood there and read the story on the front of the paper for a couple of minutes until I said, "Are you ready now?" No worries, mate, we all get hours upon hours for a lunch break, right? Grrr! indeed.
B. Landers in Lula, Ga.: Why is the U.S. Department of Agriculture advertising food stamps on the radio? I am sorry if I am being inconsiderate, but do you think our tax dollars should be spent on advertising to give away our tax dollars? What a waste. These ads are being played all the time on a number of Atlanta radio stations. My point is if you need help buying food for your family you should know where to go get help. The government doesn't need to advertise it. I think this might be an open door for people that don't really need the help, to get it anyway just because they tried and succeeded. They even say it is easy just call the 1-800 number now.
Bert G. writes: Mike, I assume you didn't pay the whole bill in advance. Whenever I have to clean up after contractors (a roofer, electrician and floor refinisher), I take Polaroids of the mess, clean it up myself and bill the contractor for my time. My labor ain't cheap, trust me. I then enclose the photos and a brief letter explaining why a certain amount has been deducted from the final payment, and I consider the contract to be paid in full. Never had a problem with doing that. Oh, did I tell you my labor ain't cheap? Once contractor even wrote me to inform me he was unaware his crew was leaving a mess and offered his personal apology. That's classy.
C.J. in Houston writes: My Grrr is to the Obliviot within my company who got very "testy" with me for instinctively asking if she had been married, when the reality was that she had recently divorced. The long and short of the story ends something like this: "OK, well can you tell her to call Jane Smith in the lab when she returns?" Of course I'm wondering who Jane Smith is because the only "Jane" I know in the lab is "Jane Davis." So I say, "Jane the lab manager?" "Yes," "Oh, did you get married?" and her very nasty response was "No, Sir -- I got divorced." Now, while I certainly understand that divorce can be an emotional thing for some people, how do you expect people who have no idea that you've married or divorced to know who the heck you are, or not inquire when you're leaving a message and suddenly, you've got a brand new name?
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