Beauty and the bike
To Mr. Im so beautiful and cool riding my fixie, with my blue couriers bag slung across my back, my long, flowing blond hair, no helmet, and, of course, ear buds. You are an A-1 asshole, or maybe you have been bequeathed the genes of a sociopath. Your reflexes and coordination are so off you thought my reflexes were slow and you had to push by me at the risk of knocking me over just in case you didnt get off the mark a quarter of a second before the light turned green and then went on to almost knock another woman off her bike on the viaduct. Maybe you were drunk and/or stoned? Maybe amongst your other problems, you also dont like women? Of course when I caught up to you completely ignored me. It must have been such an affront to someone so special as you to actually have to stop your bike and wait for the light at Main and Dunsmuir; cant you part the traffic with a wave of your long blond unhelmeted hair? Youre not the only one using the bike path.
Anonymous
Red-light runners
Fellow motorists, please stop running red lights. There has been no change on this in the Motor Vehicle Act. Im tired of sitting in left turn lanes, seeing the advance (green) arrow, then finding that there are still two or three vehicles turning within the intersection from my right. This is becoming the norm rather than an isolated occurrence. I witness many near misses every day. If you are not past the stop bar (thats the thick white line for those of you who have forgotten) when the light goes red, then wait for the next green. Take a breath, and remember that life (yours and other motorists lives) is more important than the 30 seconds you will spend waiting.
Anonymous
Respect is free
Hi this is a rave, which I hope is self-evident. I want to express my respect and admiration for the young, sincere, enthusiastic and indefatigable employees of various worthy charities like the Red Cross who stand on local downtown streets and in other areas holding binders and canvassing passers-by for donations in all weather. People rush past them, refuse to make eye contact, pretend to talk on their cells or scuttle by clutching shopping bags from fashionable shops. I have been underemployed for a while and sometimes after replying to a greeting from one of these canvassers I end up listening to their energetic speeches despite having told them I dont have any money to donate. Theirs is a very hard job: standing outside, usually ignored, but still positive and genuinely cheerful. Imagine working in a store mostly unable to convince people to buy. I wish I had something to give these organizations. But respect doesnt cost us anything, does it fellow citizens.
Anonymous Rantline caller
Be smart, wear a helmet
I am a biker and this is a rant against my fellow bikers who dont wear helmets. You need to sign something that says were not responsible for your head injury when an accident happens and it will happen. Its happened to me twice and Im 63 and Im damn happy I had a helmet on. Helmets are very important. And do me a favour, get a bell. If youre gonna pass me on the inside or outside because Im an old man, do me a favour and ring a bell so I know you are there and I dont swing over into your lane and knock you off your bike. And how about blinker lights? Blinker lights are a good idea. If you are going to ride at night, wear something a little colourful like flaming yellow or neon yellow, something motorists can see and fellow bikers can see. Ive been biking for over 40 years and Ive got to tell you if youre riding without a helmet because you dont think it looks cool you are a fool. I dont think mine looks cool. I look like a fool in my helmet, but you know what? Im not fool enough not to wear the helmet. Because Ive seen people get hit. Be smart, wear a helmet when you bike and if youre gonna ride a bike, signal. I have a pet peeve with motorists who dont signal and I hate cyclists who dont signal too. If youre gonna turn a corner, let somebody know. Because otherwise, youre responsible for the accident that probably will happen.
Anonymous
Name change to Quaids
The Quaids march into Canada claiming that someone is persecuting them and wants to kill them, we welcome them with open arms. My son is heartbroken. Hes filled out the papers for his wife to come here, its been almost two years and nothing is happening and Im really, really, getting upset because hes so heartbroken and immigration authorities are just not making any motion to help him out. I guess it would help to change our names to Quaids.
Anonymous Rantline caller
