In
early March, I was in Washington, D.C. for a
marathon.
While riding the Metro subway, I spotted a
subway placard above a bench seat stating:
“Federal law requires that these seats be
available to persons with disabilities and to
seniors.”
The “federal law” part grabbed my attention
and I dug out my phone to snap-capture the
regulations without disturbing the ear-bud clad,
millennial slouched across the seat; they can be
aggressive once provoked.
Now let’s jump to early April, but we will
come back to the subway.
As a birthday present to my father-in-law,
the trophy wife, her two sisters, and yours truly
sent my in-laws to Seattle to visit family.
Unfortunately, by a vote of three to one, we
purchased round trip tickets, so when my in-laws
returned Thursday, I picked them up at the Billings
Airport.
It was a nice, sunny, afternoon and for the
first time in what seems like eternity, the wind was
not blowing.
I was ahead of schedule, a rarity for
veterinarians during calving season, so I pulled my
muddy pickup curbside at the airport and reclined my
seat.
Before long, I spotted an airport maintenance
crew sealing cracks in the pavement with hot tar.
It was a crew of three, leap-frogging along
filling the cracks before moving the orange safety
cones.
I quietly studied them in my rearview mirror before
realizing one of them was Larry, a hunting buddy of
mine.
He never saw me and I said not a word.
They finished the job and as they retreated
to reposition the traffic cones I witnessed the
event inspiring today’s column.
Seen only by God and me, Larry paused where
the walkway crosses the street, bent over and
scooped up a handful of decorative gravel which had
migrated from the landscape to the gutter and tossed
it back to the base of the tree from which it came.
I suspect the maintenance crew was not
specifically instructed to hand sweep gravel from
the street, yet Larry recognized this simple thing
as the right thing to do.
Now, back to the subway so I can make my
point.
Just like only doing what you are told, if
you need a law forcing the able bodied to surrender
their seat to the disabled and seniors, the battle
has already been lost.
There was a time when manners were held in
high esteem; when pride in a job well done
prevailed.
Not anymore. Progressives promote
covetousness and entitlement over common courtesy
and work ethic and our American culture is dying
because of it.
When in doubt, ask yourself, “What would
Larry do?”
|