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Ron Jackson's Perspective
The Sunday Journal -
Think
Kankakee, Illinois
December 30, 2007
With smoking
banned,
cologne should be next |
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He'll shake 'nice guy' label
Christmas is behind us. Chalk up another
one for successfully making sacrifices for the sake of others.
Time to take down the tree and lights, save the wrapping paper and
make a list of people who could appreciate that one gift you
received that you will never use. Regifting is not a crime.
It's that time again. Even though it
seems like just yesterday, another year has come and gone. Now
it's time and acceptable to be a little selfish. With the
arrival of 2008 comes the opportunity to make a personal commitment
to improve ourselves by making the traditional New Year's
resolution. That usually means promising to make changes that
will improve health or wealth or attitude. All which may be
easier to accomplish if we just change the company we keep.
For many folks, because the winter holiday
season consists of overeating and overspending, losing weight and
getting out of debt may be two of the top goals for the new year.
Included in the top personal promises is furthering education,
getting a job, getting a better job, getting a second or third job,
quitting smoking or other bad habits. Of course, if you
resolve to smoke less next year, you will get a little help from the
state of Illinois.
A new Illinois nonsmoking law begins
January 1. All public places will be smoke-free and
ashtray-free next year. So, if one of your resolutions was to
dine out more in quiet restaurants, that may be less possible as
more people with bratty, unruly kids may also be eating out more
since dining establishments will all be non-smoking. Your
public lungs may improve at the cost of suffering more public
headaches.
Don't assume because a business is
privately owned, it's not a public place. Public doesn't mean
government-owned or controlled anymore. For the time being, a
public place means any place other than your car or your residence,
unless you are conducting a child care business; then your home is
considered a public place, too. Who knows? A year from
now, your home may be considered a public place; and your neighbor
may be able to dictate what goes on inside your home.
As you prepare your goals for the New Year,
keep in mind that the biggest disappointment people face if they are
unsuccessful at keeping their resolutions is not because they don't
reach their goal. It's because they made it public. So,
if you don't want to feel really bad should you not reach that
desired weight, financial or educational goal, don't write it on a
calendar in view of others. And don't tell anyone, especially
a best friend. There is nothing worse than not reaching a goal
than being reminded of it. So, if you are going to make a
resolution or two, the first one should be to keep it a secret just
between you and your private calendar.
I will make one public resolution. I
am going to look into starting a campaign against wearing perfume or
cologne in public. Have you ever considered how offensive
secondhand scent can be, especially when it's used in the absence of
soap and water or overly used to conceal the smell of illegal smoke?
There should be a law that says you can make a citizen's arrest if
someone invades your personal space causing you to gag on their
cheap, unpronounceable fragrance.
Before anyone misconstrues my intent as chauvinistic, I
am also talking about guys who will spend a handful of quarters on
cheap, watered-down, bathroom Polo. There should be a
requirement that signs be posted on cologne dispensers that read,
"Stop. Think about it, buddy. Splashing excessive
amounts of this cheap product on your sweaty, smoke-covered,
alcohol-filled body will not make you attractive."
Oh, and I am going to work very hard next year to get
rid of that "nice guy" label. We all know where nice guys end
up.
Good luck everyone, and may you have a very successful
2008. |
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