Hotel style luggage trolleys are a godsend for tenants who want to move in a bunch of things like cases of water, beer or soda or tons of luggage. While ours is a full-service building, tenants are expected to put the carts in the elevators when they ...
Hotel style luggage trolleys are a godsend for tenants who want to move in a bunch of things like cases of water, beer or soda or tons of luggage. While ours is a full-service building, tenants are expected to put the carts in the elevators when they are finished unloading them so door staff can replace it in the lobby. I’ve seen a cart parked in my hallway—just one of 36—for over 24 hours.
Some people expect to be served. I wouldn’t be surprised if those tenants order a cup of coffee for delivery.
So, what’s new? I’ve lived here for seven years. The following note was a first:
“Dear Residents,
“We are missing laundry carts from the laundry room if you have removed one and have it upstairs, please return it to the laundry room. These carts are only to be used in the laundry room so we can all move laundry easier. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.”
These carts, [photo right], not things of beauty, might come in handy to store linens, t-shirts or groceries but gosh. I suspect lack of motivation to return them is the real reason for their disappearance.
When I lived on a bucolic country road, some neighbors left their garbage for pickup in appalling condition, ready to tempt a bear or racoon to tear it apart to create even more of a mess. [We brought our garbage to the dump/transfer station.]
Do you notice that in some stores—Whole Foods—employees tell you the aisle number of what you’re looking for and let you wander around to find it while at others—Trader Joe’s—they take you to the aisle and to the item?
Do you observe lazy housekeeping in your community or apartment? Or by staff at some retailers?
I have something to add to the first post with this title written in 2012. Then I collected a bunch of examples, the nuttiest one being about “…the Secret Service person who didn’t pay his Columbian prostitute.” I observed, “Now was that the time to be cheap?”
After a few drinks and a wonderful dinner, how many times did you shoot the breeze with friends coming up with funny business names—is the moving company Mother Trucker still around?–and concepts. Rarely do these ideas go past the cocktail napkin stage.
Here’s one that slipped through and goodness knows why.
It’s an exhibit, in Manhattan, that just opened and is scheduled to close in June when it goes on the road. Title: “Mind of a Serial Killer: The Experience.”According to CoPilot Search, “The exhibit is a two‑story, 20+ room immersive experience blending artifacts, crime scene recreations, and interactive technology.”
There’s Ted Bundy’s Beetle (with props and placards listing victims) and a mockup of Jeffrey Dahmer’s apartment as two examples.
There are people who love this kind of thing hence the popularity of true crime shows. Highway bottlenecks often happen because drivers try to look at the aftermath of an accident.
Have you heard of or visited oddball exhibits? The first time I heard about this one the radio announcer let slip, “Who would want to see this?” I’m not adding a visit to my “to do” list. And you?
Chitchat is easy for some. My mother could speak to children with equal ease as fellow passengers on a boat, bus or plane. A neighbor she’d see frequently on the street or people waiting in the line on which she stood were soon in her sphere. She went to Paris every year, alone after dad died, until her late 80s. Her dance card was full with her friends, their children and grandchildren vying for a moment of her time.
I’m not bad at small talk myself though I feel I must be far less enthusiastic than I once was because more often than not, a comment from me lands flat or isn’t heard in an elevator or on the street. Ear buds hidden behind hair blare music or podcast conversation rendering the potential listener deaf to my observation—“what a cute dog”–or comments. Or people no longer appreciate the intrusion on their time.
In any case, talk big or small doesn’t happen under many a circumstance as it once did. Some corporations or publishers do such a good job of hiding phone numbers they discourage this kind of communication which is frustrating when the FAQs or computer chat functions don’t answer a question or you’re trying to follow up with a producer, editor or reporter.
There are some jobs—like doorman or woman or PT or hair stylist, salesman/woman–where if the customer is willing, being good at small talk is essential. It helps to develop some level of expertise if you’re shooting for a scholarship or a new job and an interview, even on Zoom or facetime, is in the cards. Networking and bar hopping, if you’re on the prowl for business contacts or a partner, also benefit from the skill.
What do you think of small talk? Is it a skill on life support? Does it serve any purpose?
Salsa, a rescue dog, has a shoe wardrobe to beat the band
I wrote about this subject eight years ago in “Service of Crying” for the first and only time. I’m surprised I haven’t found more opportunities as tears have dogged me forever and I’ve hated it.
Former House Speaker John Boehner was famous for crying all over the place. Increasingly we see public figures become emotional. Rory McIlroy choked up after he won his second Masters tournament last Sunday when he said “Mum and Dad, I owe everything to you. You are, umm…” according to MSN.com.
Michael Adkison captured Commander Reid Wiseman’s words when he addressed his colleagues and family in Houston the day after Artemis II touched down. “‘It’s a special thing to be a human, and it’s a special thing to be on planet Earth,’ Wiseman said, growing visibly emotional. At that, the audience members rose to their feet, and the astronauts embraced,” wrote Adkison on houstonpublicmedia.org.
I tear up with happiness when contestants win $20,000 on “Family Feud;” if I see a dog rescue reel on Facebook and if someone I hardly know is amazingly kind to me. Tears appear if I’m saying goodbye to someone who moves away, and I may never see again; watching a room full of orphans singing to Pope Leo in Cameroon; at funerals; seeing the kids on St. Jude commercials; hearing some music; during movies such as “Brief Encounter,” one of my husband’s favorites too.
Have public figures always been emotional but the press didn’t pick up on it? If you’re a water faucet, are you envious of friends who say they never cry? Do you have techniques to stop the flow of tears?
I wonder whether the topics that New York Times Ethicist columnist Kwame Anthony Appiah covers is a pulse on issues that bother many of us these days. Here’s a short list of recent ones.
Long before working remotely was an issue, taking on freelance jobs while working full time was a thing in publishing and PR. I did it on several occasions—exciting projects, too. So I would be the last one to encourage or discourage such behavior except to state the obvious: Don’t let it impact the responsibilities and commitments of your full-time job. Also, if you signed a document that you wouldn’t accept freelance work, don’t.
When we were stationed in North Dakota many lifetimes ago, we lived, while waiting for base housing, in Glenburn, a town of 350 mostly farmers whose homes were way out of town. We became friendly with Mr. McNabb, a secondhand furniture dealer who applied my 20-something elbow grease to clean up/refinish his chairs, tables, and bed frames. I accompanied him to farm auctions in the middle of nowhere and he’d pick up most of his inventory at these gatherings.
Off we went in his rickety pickup truck on a crystal-clear day. I’d never seen such flat surroundings, uninterrupted by so much as a tree, bush, building, bird or squirrel as far as the eye could see. Suddenly the pickup stops. Without a car in sight, or anyone to report him, Mr. McNabb’s pickup stood still at this lonely red and white sign at a crossroads!
In memory of Mr. McNabb, I’d tell the cyclist to heed the light.
Do these issues relate to today’s zeitgeist? Do you relate to any of the issues posed to the Ethicist? Do you have any to propose?
