Money, it's a gas...
posted by Joe at 12:00 AM
1 comments
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Maturity & Carpooling
Yes, I'm turning 18 on this upcoming Tuesday, March 7th, 2006. And yes, this does mean that I am legally entitled to all sorts of new and wonderful rights. Just to name a few, I can smoke cigarettes, I can sign myself out of school, I can drive people wherever and whenever I want, I can/must enlist for forced military service, I can vote in elections for public office, etc.
As of 7:00 A.M. on Tuesday, March 7th, 2006, I, Joe Harrington, will be an adult.
But how can, rather, how does becoming an adult veritably alter others' perceptions of myself? Take for instance the cop-out (and I employ the term loosely here, I admit) offered by my mother whenever I bring up the issue of "coming of age." As the law reads, I, Joe Harrington, cannot drive any licensed person(s) under the age of 25 in my car until I reach the age of 18 years. However, as everyone knows, the quality of a driver, how cautious the driver is while in the car, how resistant the driver is to distractions, how well the driver can perceive depth, and many other significant factors in determining the readiness of a person to transport other persons in their car cannot be accurately measured by one's age. My assistant manager (Ashley, good heavens) is a full seven years older than I, but has hit at least five cars, have received numerous parking and traffic violation tickets, and has even had a near-death experience with a semi. Thus, how can my mother tell me, that I am not ready to drive other people in my car because I'm too young? She even scolded me on the night of Saturday, February 25th, the night of the tournament I had devoted my entire week and weekend to, because I drove fifteen minutes past the 11:00 P.M. curfew stated by the new law. But because it is nearly impossible to accurately determine the quality of a driver, the government, finding itself completely unable to solve the problem, that is, poor drivers, sets up a blanket regulation to cut down on poor driving as best it can. Practically speaking, it's the best they can do. Idealistically speaking, it's rubbish. Where's the brightline for me? Who gives a damn, I'll just wait six days.
As of 7:00 A.M. on Tuesday, March 7th, 2006, I, Joe Harrington, will be an adult.
But how can, rather, how does becoming an adult veritably alter others' perceptions of myself? Take for instance the cop-out (and I employ the term loosely here, I admit) offered by my mother whenever I bring up the issue of "coming of age." As the law reads, I, Joe Harrington, cannot drive any licensed person(s) under the age of 25 in my car until I reach the age of 18 years. However, as everyone knows, the quality of a driver, how cautious the driver is while in the car, how resistant the driver is to distractions, how well the driver can perceive depth, and many other significant factors in determining the readiness of a person to transport other persons in their car cannot be accurately measured by one's age. My assistant manager (Ashley, good heavens) is a full seven years older than I, but has hit at least five cars, have received numerous parking and traffic violation tickets, and has even had a near-death experience with a semi. Thus, how can my mother tell me, that I am not ready to drive other people in my car because I'm too young? She even scolded me on the night of Saturday, February 25th, the night of the tournament I had devoted my entire week and weekend to, because I drove fifteen minutes past the 11:00 P.M. curfew stated by the new law. But because it is nearly impossible to accurately determine the quality of a driver, the government, finding itself completely unable to solve the problem, that is, poor drivers, sets up a blanket regulation to cut down on poor driving as best it can. Practically speaking, it's the best they can do. Idealistically speaking, it's rubbish. Where's the brightline for me? Who gives a damn, I'll just wait six days.
posted by Joe at 11:10 PM
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