Random Ramblings by Jeff Cutler

June 24, 2014

It’s been decades that I’ve been writing professionally. From my first check as a journalist to my most recent payment for a restaurant review in Foodies of New England Magazine, I’ve been making it happen. That’s not to say it hasn’t been a journey with bumps in the road. But it’s been a positive experience much more of the time than anything else I’ve tried.

That includes valet parking cars, washing dishes, being a bike messenger, bartending and about 22 other jobs. Creating content – photos, videos, words, thoughts – is what I’m good at. And it’s what I love.

This column is a continuation on a theme. For years I have been writing opinion columns in local and national publications. Infrequently, I also add those top-of-mind columns to this blog. I’m doing that today – below. I hope you enjoy it. I usually call this a Cutlets piece, little bits of my mind. Regardless of what you name it, the opinions are mine and I welcome your comments.

Enjoy…

The clientele at Starbucks often have scowls on their faces. Maybe it’s a pre-coffee thing, but I think if you’re going to get yourself a treat you should have a brighter outlook.

I’m perpetually astonished that people are such horrible drivers. Blowing through stop signs, not using signals, speeding, talking on phones, texting and more. Even more astonishing is that most people I talk to think they are skilled at driving. I think it should be much harder for people to get a license. I also think people should be retested regularly to maintain their license.

Following that line of thought, towns should make traffic enforcement a priority. It’s short-sighted to say that police departments don’t have the resources to enforce small traffic laws. If municipalities would actually examine the process, the increased revenue gathered from tickets and fines would pay for the additional manpower needed to police the streets more completely.

Tattoos puzzle me. For a society so fickle in its adoption of car colors, clothing styles, cell phone cases, coffee flavors (and no, I didn’t try to keep ‘c’ as an alliterative device here, it just happened), we have a A LOT of people with permanent artwork on their bodies. How can you select a design that you will have on your body FOREVER if you can’t decide between a macchiato and a latte.

Which brings me to the complete inability for people to think ahead. This mental deficiency actually affects a few of the topics I’ve already mentioned. If people were able to anticipate, they’d be better drivers, probably wouldn’t get tattoos and wouldn’t gum up the works at airport security, fast food restaurants or crowded bars.

What things get stuck in your craw? Do you agree with my soapbox proclamations? I’d love to hear from you. Thanks for reading.