There are small annoyances....

in life that may not warrant a second thought,but I would not be truthful if I didn't confess to more than just occasional flashes of vexation when confronted with some of these. So, as suggested in some "How to..." book self-help chapter, one is to make a list of stuff, sort of taking out the sharp edge of, for example,"annoyances" and ,if so inclined, "deal" with them as they occur. Easier said than done. The list will be easy to prepare, dealing with individual items will present difficulties. Here it goes.

1./Having been preoccupied with being physically active all my life and particularly when I was at the height of my own "self-importance", career-wise,I have often complained about the lack of time and space for working up a good sweat. Whenever I have felt bad enough and lethargic enough, I could always find a half an hour, for at least a strenuous walk, or taking the stairs for several flights, until time and space was available for a workout. So, here is one of my earliest and most persistent annoyances:meeting and watching overweight, out of shape sport coaches, trainers in charge of young or not so young sport lovers,aspirants. I always felt embarrassed in their place and I'm sure in some cases there may have been legitimate reasons for being such a poor example to their pupils. For the rest there is just no excuse, none.

2./The ease and comfort of shopping in today's supermarkets compared to the weekly produce market in my hometown many years ago is such a pleasure. On entry you have a huge cart or a smaller basket, stroll through the isles and pick out your your products, go to the cashier pay and wheel out your cart, find your car, transfer the stuff and...what do many people do with their carts? Some leave them by the side of their cars, some wheel them up to the nearest curb and may manage to leave them securely behind, or not. Very few people take the time, probably less than a minute,to wheel the cart to its designated "parking pad". Some supermarkets employ cart collectors whose job is to find and arrange these wayward carts from huge parking lots. The carts left idly behind are a real menace to people, cars, children.
Still, many just seem oblivious to the potential damage and just leave them anywhere. So thoughtless,impolite,dangerous.

3./ You are walking on a busy sidewalk and all of sudden you come upon a small gathering of people, anywhere from 3 to several who are literally blocking the whole sidewalk. They may have just met, or stopped as a group for a short meeting, whatever.You try to go around them, maybe even step off curb and still, they don't move and are oblivious that others are blocked. So thoughtless, rude.

4./ Do you have small annoyances? Perhaps something that I may be guilty of...