O is for Obvious

I'm pretty sure that it's built into my DNA since my mother is this way and my younger brother definitely has the trait. So, in the nature vs. nurture debate, in this instance, I'm going with nature; definitely nature. Frequently we (meaning members of my family) look at other people and their words and/or actions and think, "okay, duh! Master of the Obvious!" I know that makes me obnoxious (another "o" word!) and just a tad intolerant. BUT... Seems to me there are a fantastic number of people out there with very little to no common sense. It's little things from signaling prior to cutting into the next lane or putting a band-aid on someone's wound at work when they have delicate skin. Gah! Duh!! I think to myself, "how in the world are you not lighting yourself on fire while trying to boil water?!?!" Today for example, I gave report to the next nurse coming on but had to stay to finish up some charting. Most people in the facility have very little faith in her ability, so that means that even though I'm only there to chart, I get to field questions and take additional telephone orders that should be given to her. Anyway... I leave the desk for a moment and when I come back, she hands me a message and says that she doesn't know what it is. Since there is no reason someone would be calling me specifically, I said that she needed to find out what was needed. She then crumples the paper and says, "oh well, if it's important, they'll call back." My response, "umm, okay, but what I'm wondering is why you're not calling them to find out what they need. You're the charge nurse now." So, she calls. Turns out, it was the hospital wanting to give HER report on a new resident that we were admitting that night. Oy vey!!! Or, and this is classic... years ago I worked at a book store and it wasn't uncommon for someone to walk in and say something along the lines of "do you have any good books here?" "Ymmm... nope! We've sold out of all of our "good" books. Now all we have are "bad" books." Seriously?!?! Come on, now! Or, my personal favorite, "So, I was watching Oprah about a month ago and I don't remember the name or the author... but it had a blue cover." REALLY?!?! "Let me just take you over to our "blue cover" section and you can see if anything is recognizable." Sheesh! Think before you speak. It would be funny, if it didn't happen so often.

Now, don't get me wrong. I know that we're all busy with a million and one things that we're trying to juggle. I understand the periodic faux pas, those random "senior moments" or "open-mouth-insert-foot" times when something just comes out. I'm not talking about those. I'm talking about the chronic offenders. The ones that you're sure should never have gotten the degree they claim to have, the driver's license that is stored in their wallet or, sometimes, simply, the job that they show up at but you have to go behind and clean up the mess. And... to those without common sense... you're making the rest of our lives harder!