Whoa. They had cool looking “ring kites” like that over 100 years ago but the standard kite of today looks like something Charlie Brown would attempt to fly. I gotta build me some ring kite.

Anyway, the point of today’s story is rudeness. I was driving home from work today. In fact, it was doing in my car as I am often wont to do. And, going completely nuts, I was doing it on a paved surface that I like to call a “street.” Perhaps you’ve heard of it. It’s a place where cars go and stuff.

I turned into our little residential area and headed towards my street. In the intersection where I needed to in order to reach my house were three things: an older male (who I’m going to call “dad”), a younger male (who I’m going to call “son”) and a stringed object that normally flies in the air (that I’m going to call “motherfucker”).

This particular intersection was your standard four-way vortex. At one corner stood the dad. At the other corner stood the son. Traversing the entire distance between them was the motherfucker laying on the ground.

Today we had a little wind storm. In fact it knocked a few things around town, took out the power at my house and wreaked various other forms of havoc. Even with this robust wind, these two obliviots couldn’t seem to make the thing fly.

Also curious was their choice of location. They chose and intersection in the street. Not the dead end street nearby nor the empty field. No, for them, only an intersection would suffice.

Since a young person was involved I approached cautiously then slowed to a stop at a safe distance. They reluctantly took note of my existence. They proceeded to gather up the kite, presumably to allow me to pass.

That’s when something peculiar happened.

They stretched the motherfucker out and launched it into the air. Apparently their philosophy is something along the lines of, “Let that driver be damned. We’re not going to let him impact our fun.”

Their selfishness not withstanding, they still lacked the required mental reasoning required to get that thing to fly. Motherfucker crashed hard into the asphalt with satisfying velocity.

I was stunned, literally stunned, that they attempted to fly the thing again while I sat there waiting. What a society of fucks we have become! I just read a story yesterday where someone lamented the death of “please” and “thank you.” Fuck that! How about one iota of consideration for anything that happens in the world beyond our own friggin’ noses?

We have got to be the ultimate me-based society of all time. Our motto as a society is simple: I will do whatever I want. There are no rules. No laws. No manners. No mores. No nothing. Fuck all that! The only thing that matters is me and what I want.

• I don’t want to walk 20′ extra feet to get to the ATM. Therefore I park in the fire lane.
• I don’t want to wait to cross the street. Therefore I walk out into moving traffic.
• I don’t want to take the time to see who is behind me. Therefore I allow the heavy door to slam shut on the young woman and her infant directly behind me.
• I don’t want to wait five seconds for traffic to be clear. Therefore I pull out in front of a car and make them slam on their brakes to avoid hitting me.

And so on and so on. Round and round it goes – where it stops nobody knows.

Dad and son proceeded to pick up the kite. I inched forward to make clear my intention to run them over if they attempted another launch. They got the message and reluctantly moved aside, shuffling along dejectedly and looking as if I’d shot their dog. All I wanted from them was the courtesy to share the planet with another human being.

Sadly for too many of us these days that is becoming something that is way too much to ask.