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5 Things I REALLY Dislike 9/4/2013 11:53:54 AM
In my novel Dare Not Blink, main character Dave Paige and a colleague have several impromptu contests where one names the category and the other provides a response. Here’s an excerpted scene from the Hates contest:
“Gimme three Hates.”
Paige gave a momentary look of annoyance, then sighed and quickly began pondering. “I hate it when room service forgets something, like the bottle opener or the soup spoon or the mustard. I hate it when the pilot comes on over the intercom just before takeoff and starts out by saying, ‘Well, ladies and gentlemen . . .’ because you know you’re going nowhere when that happens. I hate it when some hotshot speaker uses the term ‘we’re excited about it’ with no more genuine enthusiasm than if he were delivering a eulogy for a complete stranger.”
Well, hate is a bit strong, but there are some things that I dislike to a point where my head sometimes feels like it may burst. Here’s my Top 5 list of delirious dislikes:
1.When someone tells me they’re going to do something and then does nothing. Further, they don’t call, explain, offer up lame excuses, phony contrition, or even outright lies. They don’t do anything. How can a business operate like that? How can people think their credibility isn’t damaged when they act so irresponsibly. Is it just me, or does this seem to exist in epidemic proportions?
2.When I get a letter from a charitable or political organization that begins with the phrase, “I need you to . . . “ What? Send money? Am I supposed to care what a perfect stranger needs me to do?
3.When someone in the fast lane on an interstate highway has a distinct indifference to their less-than-fast speed. Do they not get it? Is it that complicated?
4.When phone calls begin with a recorded announcement. At the dinner hour. With an out-of-state area code. You knew it, you just knew it. But you answered anyway.
5.When the fan/cheerleader stands up at a sporting event and waves his arms upward in an effort to get everyone else to stand and cheer, even when no one else wants or needs to stand and cheer. He thinks it’s his duty, that he’s making a difference, that we should follow his charismatic and electrifying lead. There’s one in every crowd. He’s the only one standing, waving his arms in the air like he really does care.
