I swear a bit.
Some may think I swear more than I should and some just can't understand a word I am saying, so swearing at them doesn't really matter.
However, my swearing, the words I choose and how they sound can change with my mood. If I am angry the words sound different and I have been told that I revert to my old Irish accent when this happens.
In fact, just the other day my son told me I was sounding very Irish. Something on the TV must have annoyed me.
Also if I am overtired I may tend to slur my obscenities and so they don't seem to have the same affect.
But I don't always swear. There are certain situations, social and otherwise where I have enough sense that I afford people around me the courtesy of me not swearing. Although this doesn't happen very often, it does happen.
I don't swear around people I am introduced to for the first time. I don't swear around my friends parents (unless they swear at me first). I try not to swear during job interviews. I don't swear during karate class, at least not at the kids, and I certainly do not swear in my letter to Santa as I want him to think I have been a good boy this year.
Basically I can be courteous with my swearing.
And that is what I wanted to talk about today. Courtesy.
It seems that there are a lot of people who just have no clue what it means to be courteous. And there are lots of instances where a certain amount of courtesy is required.
There is the courtesy call from the auto shop to let you know your car is ready, and the courtesy vehicle will be along soon to pick you up.
There is the courtesy flush - not done nearly enough for my liking - when you are in a public washroom or work washroom and the tacos from the night before have been playing havoc with your guts. You know the room will be frequented at some time by other people or workmates and is would be nice if you gave a courtesy flush or two (depending on what you have eaten) so the rest of us don't have to hold our breath. Maybe open a window in addition to the courtesy flush if needed.
And please, do us the courtesy of washing your hands before you leave the washroom.
On a long road trip there is the courtesy crack, where you open the window a little (or a lot) - even in the dead of winter - as a courtesy to other passengers when you pass gas.
We have the courtesy cough when you need to pas gas in public, especially in an elevator, and you don't want anyone to hear it.
Then we come to the courtesy wave.
We have all come across the driving bully at the four-way stop. You arrive at the stop at the same time as some other cars, and instead of giving way to the vehicle to his right, the clown who just arrived on your left decides he is going to slow down, not stop and go through the intersection just because he feels like it or thinks the world owes him something.
It drives me nuts. Sometimes I just want to get a big old piece of crap truck and drive right into them. No "sorry" wave or anything like that.
Just the other day at the three-way stop at Marleau and Southridge a car to my right on Southridge was stopped, I was coming to a stop at the sign and another vehicle was coming from the direction of Walmart. As the vehicle to the right of me started to turn left onto Marleau the plonker in the vehicle coming the opposite way blew the stop sign almost hitting the turning car.
The driver slowed as she almost hit the vehicle, but nonetheless kept on going. Not even so much as a "sorry I screwed up" wave.
When leaving Timmy's a couple of times over the last few weeks I have held the door open for someone entering and did not receive as much as a courtesy grunt. Now I just say loudly "you're welcome" so everyone can hear. I like to embarrass when I can.
Hopefully this may get them to be more courteous next time someone holds the door open for them.
It's the same if you stop to let someone cross the road when they are not at a crosswalk or lights, or when you let someone out of a side street into the lineup in front of you. All it takes is a little gesture. A wave of the hand, it doesn't even have to be Queen-like.
Maybe a nod of the head, a flash of the lights or what we used to do in Ireland when driving trucks was to flash the hazard warning lights as a thank you to the vehicle behind who let you into the line in front of them.
It makes everyone's day better.
It may even be a story you tell the spouse when you get home and might even put you in a better mood.
"I got two courtesy waves, a courtesy flush and a thank you today. I feel great. Now where's my paper, I'm off to the washroom. And yes I know, the courtesy matches are on the window ledge."
