Three Random Pet Peeves, #2

Crowd at Jurassic Park. Cherry Creek Mall, Denver, Colorado, 2016 (Careful kids, it’s a jungle out there!)

Three more for my ongoing, low-grade feud with the world as I sometimes find it…

1 – Audio ads at the gas pumps. You pull the nozzle to fill your car gas tank and it immediately starts blaring, “Did you know you could save as much as 3% on each fuel purchase if you stand on your head and whistle Dixie?”. I can’t find that damn mute button fast enough.

2 – Cigarette butts on the ground. Since when did cigarette butts get to be an exception to the litter rule? I have even seen them on belay ledges on the Northwest Face of Half Dome…and on backcountry wilderness trails, of all places.

3 – Hard, tasteless fruit at the grocery store. I saw some peaches at the local Queen Poopers advertised as “sweet and juicy” and they were as hard as a Yosemite boulder. To buy them is to take a risk–will they eventually soften? Or will they just turn to rotten mush? Even the softer fruits–blueberries, raspberries, and so on–are often completely tasteless, despite their plump appearance. Please, I don’t care if they look a little battered, just bring back the original taste!