Diligently solving the first world problems of the inhabitants of the inner-west.
Pete the other day I was a bit disturbed to witness a young man “walking” his dog whilst riding his bike. Apart from how lazy this feels, I’m worried about what might happen to the dog if there’s some sort of accident?
Suzy, Footscray (via Facebook Messenger)
Suzy, I think we have to be careful not to judge people. Sure, this young man may have looked like he was capable of walking, but maybe he can only ride bikes? Although it does sound like this fellow might have been physically capable of at least walking, but what if his dog was training for the 2022 Canine Olympics? He’d have no chance of keeping up with a four-legged elite athlete. Sadly though, it’s probably more likely that this pooch is a fur-ball version of a senior citizen. So apart from struggling to keep up, I’m more worried about what might happen if the poor little fella’s ticker decides to give up halfway between home and the pub? A sad day for scruffy mutts everywhere…
Pete the other day I bumped into an acquaintance in the street, and was in the middle of telling them how I had recently had my AstraZeneca vaccine shot when they stepped back and told me I should isolate because I was “shedding” whatever that meant, and could infect normal people who didn’t need vaccines, and that my behaviour was irresponsible. I was a bit too taken aback to think of any sensible response at the time, so I just said “whatever” and walked off. But my question now is, what can you say to someone whose view of the world is so different from your own, you can’t even see the common ground anymore?
Jane, West Footscray (via email)
That’s a tricky one Jane. My first thought is what’s so good about “common ground” anyway? If I’m on common ground it generally means I’ve had to compromise, which is not my preferred state – allowing someone who is CLEARLY WRONG, and possibly an idiot, to continue believing whatever hogwash it was that led us to this so-called common ground in the first place! But anyway… back to you and your problem. You could ask your (ex) friend to point you to the research that proves the shedding theory is valid, although that could be dangerous, as not all of us have either the time to watch a bunch of YouTube videos, or the money to spend a weekend at Pete Evan’s Evolve retreat in Byron Bay!
