Reform from bad habits in light of 9/11 anniversary

I would like to thank Stacy Brody, of Tinton Falls, for her article on "Everyone needs to ... relax." As a young professional in New York City during the yuppy 1980s, I experienced firsthand how our lives were becoming so fast-paced that it has since spun out of control. The day I left my nice salaried yet stress-filled job in Manhattan, moved from Hudson County to the Matawan area, and found a less-pay yet "calmer" job in New Jersey, was the day I let out a sigh of relief.

However, once I decided to become a stay-at-home mom 14 years ago, and the salary was gone and finances were and still are challenging, I have been able to take time out and truly see how crazed many people have become in this rushing around society. With that being said, although technology has advanced so much since my corporate days, I find the conveniences of such have turned many people into unconscientious individuals, if not lazy, selfish, rude, obnoxious, monsters.

There have been numerous times where careless drivers have been distracted and traffic accidents have occurred because of using their hand-held cell phones while driving, that a law had to be made to stop it. Yet people keep doing it anyway, even though there are plenty of helpful devices available on the market to alleviate the problem. Recently, while trying to cross Route 34 with my 9-year-old son and his friends, a driver nearly mowed us down while speeding and talking on his hand-held cell phone, even though there was a red light just ahead.

The latest "trend" seems to be where drivers create their own parking spaces by illegally pulling over into the "no parking - fire zone" areas, leave their cars running and leisurely run their errands. Otherwise they just illegally pull their cars over wherever it's convenient for them, blocking in drivers who legally park their cars in legal parking spaces. Within this past week, I had two altercations with such drivers who actually had the audacity to mouth off to me, as if I was the driver at fault! In the heat of these incidents, I retaliated by mouthing off back, only to have my blood pressure boil.

Then there are the rude drivers who stop in the middle of the road to have a conversation with a friend who is passing in the opposite direction, causing a back up of very patient drivers who would like to be on their way. It's one thing to slow down for several seconds and say a quick hello to a passerby, and it's just plain rude to continue talking while other drivers are waiting behind you. Then when you politely beep, they mouth off to you and flip you the "bird."

So in the event any of you conscientious drivers feel victimized by such thoughtlessness and obnoxiousness, let me give you a word of advice: give them 30 seconds to see if they'll be on their way. After that, beep and respectfully call to them. Should they behave disrespectfully toward you instead of apologizing, just simply pick up your cell phone - while you're still "immobilized" in your parking space - call the local police, and have them ticketed. To those thoughtless drivers who choose to continue to behave like this, watch where you're illegally parking/pulling over, because if you dare to do so in front of a silver Buick Century, you may not even be given the courtesy 30 seconds!

With the five-year anniversary of 9/11 approaching, let's all take a moment to regroup and "reform" from our bad habits and how badly we treat others, and just be respectful to each other, not just on 9/11, but always. Only then can we truly say we are proud to be Americans.

Debbie Long

Matawan