'Round the Corner

Some years ago, I subscribed to one of those online neighborhood services. I forget the name - Down the Block, 'Round the Corner or something like that.

My goal was to get vendor recommendations from fellow citizens in the community. You know the drill - Who knows a good electrician? Who's your go-to for lawn care? 

I seem to get lots of emails from the service and, even though there may be some vendor recommendations in the bundle, I also see other types of messages. 

Maybe it's the times we live in but there is a lot of snark that comes in my email feed. Here's are some types of posts I might see.

I would never go to (insert name of business) again. Their prices are outrageous and the staff is rude. 

                                                                     OR 

You couldn't pay me to vote for (insert name of candidate). He's a low-down pesky buzzard!

                                                              OR (my personal favorite)

To the person driving the (insert name, make, model and color of) vehicle. You're a horrible driver. I hope the emergency that caused you to cut me off and nearly cause an accident was worth it! 

Whenever I see one of those latter posts I chuckle. Above all else, what are the odds the driver of (insert name, make, model and color of) is even reading along? Or did the other driver just need to vent a little in safe space?

The local newspaper's reader hotline is another source of this sort of safe space venting. Folks are encouraged to keep messages upbeat but, occasionally, one of the other kind slips through.

And don't even get me started about sports message boards. My friend Ed and I were talking about the back and forth leading up to the big high school football game recently. Lots of vitriol and let's leave it at that. But, aren't they just high school kids?

The ability to post an anonymous message emboldens folks to ratchet the rhetoric. 

If I happened to attend said big game and encountered a fan from the other side, no doubt, our exchange would be cordial. But fans can take to the message board and call ME a low-down pesky buzzard just because I root for the other team.

Maybe it is my advanced years, this negativity seems uncouth. And really not necessary. At the end of the day, aren't we all really on the same page? Mostly.

My wife and I came of age at a time when manners, etiquette and civility were all encouraged if not downright enforced.

We walked single-file in the school hallways and if someone deviated from the line, they were called out.  And in gym class, we were expected to be dressed out and lined up by a specific time or suffer the consequences. Heck, I even got scolded, once, for my inability to color within the lines. 

Creativity might come in the form of the words I write but I have no artistic talent whatsoever! Hard as I try, I still can't do it. 

Anyway, today's post pulls together lots of thoughts I've been thinking recently. 

What is the #CoachJeff Call to Action? You know you don't get out of today's blog post without one. 

My final thoughts:

• Take a pause before you hit the send button (and mebbe re-read the text before you send)
• As much as there is a human being on the sending end, remember there is also one on the receiving end as well.
• And, even though #CoachJeff coached a bunch of games and spends a lot of time reading, writing and thinking about sports, after all, it IS just a game. 
• And fantasy football, if you play it, is just a game about a game.

JG