A truckload of dumb...
 
Forget about airport security... I'm finding increasing evidence that somebody dumped a truckload of dumbness-inducing chemicals into a nearby water supply. And judging by the drivers I saw on the way to work this morning, I'd say I'm really close to the epicenter.
 
Exhibit A: This morning's drivers... horrible, even by the pathetically low standards set in the Boston area.
 
Exhibit B: Last night having Chinese with my wife:
 
Waiter: "sorry... but chef make mistake and make wrong shrimp dish instead... you want this?" (holding the wrong entree)
Me: "Hmm... well..." (indecisive, hungry, and possibly ready to compromise)
Waiter: "It cost two dollar extra"
Me: "You'll charge me two dollars more for that dish?"
Waiter: "Yes... how about you take, and I just charge two dollar more"
Me: "No, you can take it then... I'll wait for the right dish... thank you though"
Waiter "Okay, sorry" (walks over to the trash, and dumps the more expensive dish).
 
Could someone (preferably with an MBA) call and explain these economics to me? Or better yet... to him?
 
Exhibit C: Dear, dear friend Bonnie overheard Carlos calling his pal "Nick the spic"... Carlos is from Argentina and Nick is from somewhere in Central America...so you know the rules... If you're Polish, you can make Polish jokes, and being from Vermont, I can joke about people marrying their cousins. Anyhow, for whatever bizarre reason, many find this at least somewhat acceptable. Well, here's what's not acceptable about it. Naive Bonnie, having no Hispanic roots, and having no clue that this is an ethnic slur, was handing out nicknames to the third-graders in her class... yup... guess what name seems to have really caught on with little, nine-year-old Nick? Of course, Bonnie was horribly embarrassed when we told her about this, and obviously has stopped calling him that (in fact, I recommended that she be banned from nicknames altogether). But can't you just picture it...
 
Nick: "Mommy... Mommy..."
Mom: "Como estas?"
Nick: "Guess what my teacher calls me now?"
Mom: "Que? Como se llama?"

 
... and 4 seconds later Bonnie's teaching career is gone, she's on the front page of the Boston Globe, and racial riots ensue... Bonnie's actually pretty intelligent, so like I said... it must be the water.