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Current Opinions: September 12, 2007 (Click HERE for Archived Opinions):

Miranda's Article

There are certain things that other people do in one's life that really rub one in the wrong way. Just little things, normal, everyday things that can really get to a person.

When people tell me to have a good night at 9 in the morning, or tell me to have a good day at 11 at night, it bothers me. I know it sounds stupid but I really can't stand it. Does the person saying this really have no concept of what time it is? I mean it's dark outside at eleven at night... that means it is not day... therefore, tell me to have a good night please.

The people that I notice do this the most are fast food workers. You roll up to the window, they halfway smile at you and then in a very monotone voice tell you to have a nice night, or a good day, but they can never get it right. Everyone who works knows what time they have to be at work and what time they get off. So my question is why can't you decipher what time of the day it is... and tell me to have a good whatever time of the day it is?

Another thing that really bothers me is when I drive through somewhere and the person waiting on me is obviously not happy to be waiting on me. I guess its a rule that you have to say have a good whatever and come again... and that is nice, but no one ever means it. It's like a big smack in the face when someone doesn't make eye contact with you, then mumbles under their breath, half heartedly "Have a great day...please come again."

You just want to say "Wow, thanks for being so sincere." It is your job to be nice to me, fake it if you must, but at least try and be sociable to me. I am the customer... I am right. you know.

I guess what I am really trying to say is take some pride in your work, even if you don't have the most glamorous job, wouldn't it be better to be the best at your bad job. Try this thing called...quality work, go beyond what you have to do right now and maybe it will pay off big in the future.

I enjoyed the chance to catch up with an old friend this past weekend, when my friend Mike Rieger was in town for a visit with his family.

In addition to sharing the same first name, Mike and I have always shared a similar worldview.

Here's a key difference.

Despite periodic urges in my life to drop out of ordinary society, I've pretty much followed a conventional path. Sometimes, that makes me think I'm a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. But most of the time, I appreciate the chance to understand the reasons behind those who think differently.

I don't know if the label fits, but I feel like Trenton's designated liberal, and living in what is a pretty conservative area helps me see that good people can honestly disagree. I still think their views are dumb; just not mean-spirited.

In some small way, taking the risk to come home and buy this newspaper must have represented a certain dissatisfaction with corporate America.

Mike, on the other hand, went large when he decided to diverge from the path most taken. He left the business world several years ago and took off for the Dutch West Indies, where he continues to live today.

He told me the other night, and it's the first time he's ever told me, the reason why he ducked out.

Apparently, he was on a sales trip in Nebraska or Iowa or some such place, mid-winter, and he'd been battling the freezing cold for days. He was holed up in his hotel room, watching the Tonight Show, and Bob Hope was that night's guest.

Hope was getting up there, and there was some thought it would be one of his last public appearances. Jay Leno cleared the last five minutes to give the old comedian a chance to express whatever views he wanted.

"It won't take that long," Hope said, and looked at the camera. "Just remember," he said to the millions watching. "When you reach the end of your career, when the rat race is over, you're still a rat."... or words to that effect.

Mike's still a (relatively) young man, so he didn't go to St. Maarten to retire. He runs a radio station there (island92.com if you want to listen on the internet), and maybe he's still in the rat race, but I get the impression it's one he's more passionate about.

We had some times together when we were younger, some wilder than others. I've pretty much left those days behind me, and while I don't have many "middle-aged crazy" inclinations, my somewhat misspent youth isn't something I regret either.

My friendship with Mike has spanned well over 20 years now, and even though I only see him every couple of years, I still value his sometimes unique slant on the world, both in areas where it aligns with mine and those where it differs.

Both of us are a little more weatherbeaten by life than we were the last time we saw each other, but I think we're both still optimistic and hopeful. We still strain against the yoke of convention, but what was once rage has turned to a sort of sardonic weariness. The indignation is still there, slightly more muted than it once was.

It's always puzzled me when people tell friends they haven't seen in a while, "you haven't changed a bit," as if it's a compliment.

If you really think about it, it's about the worst thing you can say about a person. It says you haven't grown, or evolved, or matured, and isn't that the point of life?

Mike and I have both changed since our wilder days, but he's still a person I appreciate knowing, and I hope he feels the same way about me.

I know we agree that even if we're a bit tamer, a little more domesticated, we're both still rats.