Did you ever stop to consider the fact that we are, for the most part, able to coexist in America? Seriously, with such a large population of diverse people, speaking a multitude of languages, possessing varying levels of agitation, the pressures and stress of life in 2013, I do believe we are doing a great job…kudos to all the Dudley Do Rights…High 5 and Boom Boom Pow!

In particular, I would like to point out that well over 8 million people live in the 5 boroughs of New York and speak as many as 800 languages, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world.

I have acknowledged those with a conscious and a sense of right and wrong. Now, I would like to call out all the assholes who NEVER go with the flow and exist exclusively within the Entitlement bubble.
I will reduce my argument to a microcosm of society…NYC’s Central Park. I walk the hallowed paths daily.

In a small, personal way, I try to preserve the beauty of the Park by picking up garbage, abandoned newspapers, Starbucks cups, and wrappers (not Kanye or Eminem). I draw the line at dirty tissues and urine filled beer bottles…a girl can handle just so much.

The best part of running, biking or walking Central Park is that you can escape the insanity of the city, day dream and exercise without being concerned about crosswalks, crazy taxicab drivers, and New Yorkers navigating the sidewalks like they are competing in the Indy 500.

This is no longer a reality. Unless only visually impaired people are infiltrating the Park, we are in deep doo doo and not just from the idiots who never pick up their dog’s excrement.
Case in point, the following signage:

Let’s break it down…the sign is big. Multiple signs are placed in the middle of the pathways throughout the Park. If English is not your first language, I do believe that everyone comprehends the concept of a picture with a big red line through it which translates to, “NO!”  It’s yellow, just like Big Bird which is almost impossible to go undetected. Yet, every day dozens of people wiggle waggle around the oval at the Great Lawn, cut across the path by Sheep’s Meadow, and bike on the dirt path around the Reservoir. When you comment (which I always do much to my husband’s disapproval…”Toby, just once, can’t you give it a rest and stop being the Central Park policewoman!”) you usually receive the universal sign for F…you (that they understand).

I have seen seniors knocked down and cyclists do not stop. I have witnessed puppies mowed down and have had their legs broken…even toddlers has been assailed. There are miles of bike lanes in the Park and around the city. Why can’t people honor the signage?

This brings me to my second grievance…smoking in the Park. Here’s the proof:

No smoking in Central Park has received a lot of press, controversial or not, it is a law. The signs are in 3 languages. Let’s face it, most people understand either English, Spanish or Japanese and then we also have the picture with the line through the middle…universal sign language. Once again, the hand gesture is the same.

I could go on and on…dogs are generously allowed off leash in the Park from 9PM to 9AM, but clearly this isn’t a big enough window of opportunity for those entitled jerks. Do you know how hard it is to have 2 dogs on leash when an unrestrained dog charges? Same finger and verbal response.

So, if you live in NYC or plan on visiting and, right now, in honor of the Jewish New Year, just get your act together and learn to matriculate peacefully and cooperatively into society.

By the way, Californians are also abhorrent regarding smoking in “No Smoking” parks and on the beach, leaving dogs off leash and bike riding in restricted areas. I used to be awestruck by the confrontations between cyclists and drivers in San Francisco…it was a ringside seat to the UFC.

In closing, thank you to all the millions of fabulous peeps who adhere to making the world a better place to live and coexist…I love you, man!