Trustworthy

Loyal

Helpful

Friendly

Courteous

Kind

Obedient

Cheerful

Thrifty

Brave

Clean

Reverent

In my next post I will reveal the source of these twelve important character traits as well as their significance.

Last month just after having the bumper replaced on our SUV, someone ran into the new bumper in a parking lot, and simply drove away, leaving behind $450 damage for us to pay.  Last week my mother in law parked her minivan at a hotel.  In the morning she saw where someone during the night ran into her minivan, damaging the entire back bumper.  No other vehicles were around when she discovered the damage.

The more people I talk to, the more I find similar things happened to their cars.  Then as I look around at cars, on the road or in parking lots, I see the amount of scratches and damage on other vehicles, and wonder just how many of those were caused by individuals who never took responsibility.

I think the Allstate commercial simply captures what is happening everywhere, and not just by teenagers.  Hurried or distracted adults and seniors cause just as much damage, and simply drive away. A relative watched a senior try to parallel park.  He struck the front and rear vehicles twice each before ending his parking.  He simply walked into the store as if nothing happened.

For those of you with kids, you’ll appreciate this story.  This week at church when my son threw open his car door, he impacted it right into the passenger door of the neighboring car.  He caused a 3-4 inch deep scratch right in the middle of their door, as well as a dent.  I was mortified.  For a moment I looked at it and thought just how easy it would be to simply move my car to a different spot, knowing no one saw what just happened.  Then I wondered just how someone could live with themselves after doing it, knowing the person whose car you just damaged was in church with you, and likely every week.  I used it as a lesson for my kids.  I told the the only thing to do was to find the person after church, explain what happened, provide our information, and pay for the damage after they obtained an estimate.  I wasn’t happy about having to pay money, but it was the only thing to do.

After church the car was still there, and we spoke with the car’s owner.  After hearing what happened and my position on people who don’t take responsibilities for their actions, the woman told us not to worry about it, and that we should have a nice day.  I was floored.  Perhaps she was equally floored that someone actually took responsibility for their actions.

Things can have a happy ending even when you do the right thing, and you sleep at night knowing you did the right thing.

Just how many people in today’s society would act similarly?  The answer likely is – most would think I was crazy for not simply moving my car to another area of the parking lot.  What a great lesson that would have been for my kids – likely what has happened to the continual erosion of our society.

The email describes a new issue posing a significant risk, where individuals use empty soda bottles and common household items to make bombs out of empty plastic soda bottles.  Then they put these bottles into folks’ mailboxes or leave them on people’s lawns.  The unsuspecting person sees an empty bottle on their lawn, picks it up to properly discard or recycle it, and it explodes.   The chemicals inside heated to a boiling point, and cause severe thermal and chemical burns, likely to the hands and face, and the explosion can take off fingers.

We teach our kids to be litter conscious, and if they see things on the ground, to pick them up and recycle the things that shouldn’t be discarded.  The kids I know at our school and in our boy scout troop get this message repeatedly, and have become accustomed to seeing things laying around and picking them up.

Now what do we tell them to do.  Do we simply leave all litter and bottles on the ground for fear that what looks like an empty soda bottle with a little soda left in it is actually a bomb?  How do we re-train our kids to ensure they don’t have one of these explode on them?  I know for myself I don’t want to even touch one again after reading the article and viewing the video.

Think about the implications this likely will have on our environment, recycling, and our safety.  Just sad.

What can be done so individuals stop ruining our society and our way of life?

Here’s the link to the story and video:

http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/bottlebomb.asp

Unfortunately, younger generations have been exposed to the same lifestyles in society, where values, pride and ethics have become qualities of the past, replaced by the “get whatever I can at any cost” mentality.  Chivalry, manners and respect have joined the growing list of nearly extinct qualities as well.

While camping this past weekend I read a great article that addressed the issue of raising children, and things a parent could choose to do to instill values and social responsibility.  I strongly agree with the approach that the way we raise our children will be the only way we bring society back on track.  I don’t find myself overly religious, and I respect the individuality of choice when it comes to one’s religion, or no religion at all.  The article I read, while included in a Catholic publication, isn’t specific to any one faith, but rather identifies seven areas a parent can make a significant positive impact on their children and their future.

“Point One – a parent needs to choose to have dinner as a family as many days as possible.  Sitting and eating together has profound cultural and ethnic repercussions in children’s development and perception of what the home means to them.”

“Point Two – the choice to belong to a parish and practice the faith regularly has long-term positive effects.  Living out one’s faith as a family directly correlates with a child’s later sense of self-worth and ability to avoid drug abuse and teen pregnancy.”

“Point Three – a parent can make a big difference by choosing every night to review a child’s homework. Here, children learn they are a priority because you care about their work, achievements and struggles.”

“Point Four – a parent must demand that a child shares the truth of his or her day and relationships.  As the child grows and later faces the harder decisions adolescence and young adulthood bring, this truth-based trust will be a bond in the family.”

“Point Five – every year, a family needs to schedule a vacation away from home that makes the child’s recreation the priority.  What wonderful memories childhood vacations can make, no matter what the destination.”

“Point Six – in many cases, a child benefits when a parent activity helps him or her establish a balanced schedule that allows for a team sport, personal hobby or artistic or musical talent.  Developing these skills helps foster a healthier sense of self-worth that translates into greater achievements in life.”

Point Seven – a parent needs to choose to require social skills and proper manners of their child, in the house, at school and in life.  A child who is required to be accountable for his or her speech and actions will develop a great respect for others and learn to take responsibility for himself or herself in any situation.”

The entire can be found at:

“Making Hard Choices To Help Our Kids.  Father Michael F.X. Hinkley, The Catholic Transcript, February 2010.

Recently our pack traveled to the recycling museum, where we were provided a tour of the recycling plant.  Our town puts all recyclable items into one container, and the plant sorts it all out.  Really cool!

What I didn’t know was that I was recycling things improperly, causing them more work than needed.  As with my previous post, I thought I would pass along what I learned, seeing that every adult on the trip did pretty much what I did with recycling.

Plastic bottles and containing #1 and #2 are what they want, currently.  Soon they will be able to process all plastic items #1 through #7.

Caps are bad.  They are made from a composition of plastics, and are therefore not recyclable.  The caps need to be removed and discarded separate from the recycling.

Same for jars – no caps allowed.  Even though them are often metal, they are a composite and not a pure metal, and most have a wax or plastic seal in them.  Caps get discarded.

Cans, lids to cans, flip tops (soda cans) – all accepted.  Paper, of any kind, all accepted.  For every cube of recycled paper they create (and they create many every day), they save seventeen (17) trees.  On our tour we observed hundreds of these cubes awaiting train transport to Canada for re-use.

I am looking forward to the day we can put all plastics into the bin (as I have been doing unknowingly) so that we can better preserve our environment and natural resources.

CRRA Recycling Museum in Hartford, Connecticut – I highly recommend visiting them, especially if you have kids.

Today’s post is a great example.  Have you ever found yourself pulling into a gas station while driving a vehicle you are not familiar, perhaps your spouse’s or friend’s car?  Maybe it is simply a rental.  As you pull in, you try to figure out what side needs to be closest to the pumps.  Worse, is when you pull in, only to determine fuel goes in from the other side.  With everyone watching, you have to turn the car around or move to a different pump on the other side of the vehicle.

Well… I never knew until recently all you had to do is look down at the fuel gauge.  The fuel gauge has an image of a gas pump in the middle of the gauge, along with a small arrow.  The arrow points to the side of the vehicle where fuel is added.

How I have been driving for the past 27 years and never knew this secret – I don’t know.  But it made me think… I bet many people don’t know that as well.  In the few people I have shared this with, they never knew it either.  It also made me think what else in life I don’t know, things right in front of me every day.

Hope it helps.  Check out the image of the fuel gauge at the following link:

http://www.aa1car.com/library/fuel_gauge_analog.jpg

Today’s concern for caution relates to using keychain remotes to lock and arm you vehicle.  If you’re like me, you hit the lock button, wait to hear the car horn sound, and walk away thinking your car is secure until you return.  Ignorance is bliss, and you enjoy your evening out, only to come back and find your things missing from your car (or your car gone altogether).

How could that have happened – I know I locked and alarmed my car?

Well, burglars now sit in parking lots, watching and waiting for unsuspecting car owners to remotely lock and arm their cars.  Then the thieves use a device that intercepted the remote’s signal, and remotely unlock your vehicle, stealing everything within the car.

The best advice I have found so far is to go back to using the door lock buttons mounted on the door’s themselves.  Hit the lock button before closing the door, and then use your remote to arm the security system.  A second piece of advice is to leave nothing in your car.

Isn’t it terrible that we have to think about all these things in response to individuals exploiting the gadgets designed to make our lives easier and less stressful?