How Come....?

Originally Written Between 2017-2020                                                          

It all started a couple of years ago.  I was driving to Writer’s Group on 119^th when all of a sudden I noticed that every ½ block or so, my tires would drive over a manhole cover.  Sometimes the right-hand side of my car would hit the covers and sometimes the left-hand side would run over them.  There was no rhyme or reason for their location except one:  they were all lined up to have my car run over them.  This got me to thinking:  How Come…… the highway people don’t place the manhole covers along the side of the road so we don’t run over them?  How Come….. my car has to  go bump, bump, bump every 4 seconds?  How Come….. those college-educated engineers don’t know what they are doing?  Did they skip class the day manhole covers were on the syllabus?

 

Well, I can’t do anything about those covers – except complain.  But, that led me to start making a list of other things that bug me – or confuse me – or make me wonder How Come?

 

Such as:

1.  How Come…. When you rent a car from Hertz or Enterprise or some other car rental place, they give you one key?  Even though you have just signed your life away to have your spouse named as a second driver, you only receive one key.  That means two people have to share that key.  What if that key is lost?  One has to call the rental place and believe me, it will cost you an arm and a leg to get another key.  

 

Last year, I asked our agent why we can’t have two keys and he said that even if they could, they would place both keys on one key ring.  How Come?  The only answer, I believe, is if you loose both keys, you lose both arms and both legs.

 

2.  How Come…. Wait staff call me “honey,” “sweetie,” or “darling.”  I am certainly not old enough to be a sweetie…. am I?  “Honey,” maybe.  But, not “sweetie” and definitely not “darling.”  It was bad enough when people started calling me “ma’am.”  No more “hey, miss.”  This must come with the territory where the hostess automatically gives me a senior discount and never asked me at first if I wanted it.

 

3.  How Come…. Coon Rapids Boulevard looks like a dump?  Tell me…. Do we really need any more auto repair shops or auto supply stores?  I see a new building going up and sure enough…. a sign is displayed that says “So and So Auto Supply” coming to this spot soon!  Why can’t we have another restaurant – such as Chilis – or Ruby Tuesday?  The medical ally portion of Coon Rapids Boulevard is fine.  But…. really, is Coon Rapids the only town that has broken cars?  And, while I’m at it….. How Come pretty flowers and flowering bushes don’t grow in Coon Rapids?  Even Central Avenue in Columbia Heights has hanging flower baskets and green grass instead of weeds.

 

Well, I realize that I am sounding like the crabby old lady down the block.  And, maybe I am.  Because…

Number 4:  How Come…. TV news stations give a hint of something interesting and they tell you to go to their website to find out more.  A couple of weeks ago, my favorite announcer said that health insurance rates would be going up next year.  How much?  Well, anywhere from 7% to 50-60%.  But, she didn’t tell me anything more.  If I wanted to know how much UCare was going to charge me, I would have to log onto KSTP’s website and look for “links.”  Well, I wasn’t going to get out of my chair, go downstairs to my computer and look it up at 10:00 at night.  And, naturally, I forgot to look it up the next morning – and every day after that until I totally didn’t care anymore.  I have no power over the insurance companies…. They will do whatever they want.  Couldn’t the announcer just give the percentage for the top 5 or 6 insurance companies during the newscast?  Guess not.

 

5.  How Come…. On TV shows…. When the cops enter a house to find the murderer, they use their flashlights.  Why don’t they just turn on the lights?  And another thing…. How Come….. when the NCIS guys knock down the door to an old, flea infected, run-down cabin hidden in the woods, Tim McGee can go right over to the computer and immediately – and I mean immediately – he is able to get right into the computer files and solve the case.  Heck, I pay a lot every month for very fast internet and I have to wait a long time for my computer to power up.  What’s wrong with this picture?

 

6.  How Come…. Movie theaters don’t have senior rates anymore?  It was bad enough when one could not get a deal on the first weekend of a movie’s release.  But, now the theaters have eliminated the senior rates altogether!  Then – when you buy a small popcorn and a small drink, you end up paying more than for your movie ticket!  On top of that, How Come …. one now has to pay at least a dollar more for said popcorn and drink than last year because they installed a pop machine that you have to dispense yourself.  That’s right.  I do the work and I have to pay extra for that privilege!

 

7.  How Come…… well, let’s just say I’m going to quit this list of complaints for now – because I just don’t want to get started on the new Zipper Merge.