a rant & fyi: Tourists in the City - part 1
Tourists -
In the last two-years I've been thinking about putting together a "simple guide" for tourist etiquette - something you could print onto a single page and pass out to ... well, tourists. I think I just might begin. Why? Well because there are a lot of fuckers out there, and they come in all sizes, nationalities and shapes, who think that where ever they go, their front lawn and shitty couch goes with them. Well I am here to say no, your shitty couch and your freshly mowed front lawn do not, in fact come with you while you tour new places.
Let's Begin:
To the bad tourists out there - Look. Think. Listen.
Just Like You:
People in the city have life schedules just like you do, in your own towns. The only difference is city people don't come to your towns by the thousands and expect you to accept them whole heartedly. (Unless you're in upstate New York, and I feel for those people. New Yorkers make my skin crawl too.)
For city people, it's hard enough to live in a population of 8-Million plus! All while battling normal heavy traffic, the multitudes of rush hours throughout the day, crunch times, train schedules, work schedules, social schedules, etc ... and still have enough time or energy to enjoy our own home and city.
You think your rotten work schedule and life sucks?
Try adding 5,000 thoughtless meandering tourists to your front yard, tripping you up, cutting you off, blocking your passage, standing in the way stupidly, with their dumb mouths gaping open, and so on. Add that to your daily irritations and then perhaps you'll begin to understand what I mean by "tourist etiquette."
For now I am limiting this rant. Closing it out with a rule. Something all tourists must try, ever so hard, to follow.
Tourist Etiquette #1: Please remember - Don't stop in the middle of the street or in the middle of sidewalk to look up without actually considering who is driving, riding, or walking behind or around you. If you see something that's changed your life, and just have to get a picture of it, or whatever - look around you first, and then step to the side to admire wtf it is you want to see.
In the last two-years I've been thinking about putting together a "simple guide" for tourist etiquette - something you could print onto a single page and pass out to ... well, tourists. I think I just might begin. Why? Well because there are a lot of fuckers out there, and they come in all sizes, nationalities and shapes, who think that where ever they go, their front lawn and shitty couch goes with them. Well I am here to say no, your shitty couch and your freshly mowed front lawn do not, in fact come with you while you tour new places.
Let's Begin:
To the bad tourists out there - Look. Think. Listen.
Just Like You:
People in the city have life schedules just like you do, in your own towns. The only difference is city people don't come to your towns by the thousands and expect you to accept them whole heartedly. (Unless you're in upstate New York, and I feel for those people. New Yorkers make my skin crawl too.)
For city people, it's hard enough to live in a population of 8-Million plus! All while battling normal heavy traffic, the multitudes of rush hours throughout the day, crunch times, train schedules, work schedules, social schedules, etc ... and still have enough time or energy to enjoy our own home and city.
You think your rotten work schedule and life sucks?
Try adding 5,000 thoughtless meandering tourists to your front yard, tripping you up, cutting you off, blocking your passage, standing in the way stupidly, with their dumb mouths gaping open, and so on. Add that to your daily irritations and then perhaps you'll begin to understand what I mean by "tourist etiquette."
For now I am limiting this rant. Closing it out with a rule. Something all tourists must try, ever so hard, to follow.
Tourist Etiquette #1: Please remember - Don't stop in the middle of the street or in the middle of sidewalk to look up without actually considering who is driving, riding, or walking behind or around you. If you see something that's changed your life, and just have to get a picture of it, or whatever - look around you first, and then step to the side to admire wtf it is you want to see.