Say Anything Blog

Like many men who have been married a long time, I have an i-pod (if you have to ask…).  And several of my Playlists are put to together specifically for different workout routines in the gym.

The other day, I was working on a leg-press machine to the raucus beat of the unofficial redneck national anthem, “Freebird,” when I noticed the warning label on the machine.

Now, I’ve been something of a gym rat for a lot of years, but I can honestly say that I have never bothered to read one of those labels before.  If you’d asked me, I would probably made some smart remark about getting the approval of a doctor, a lawyer and your mother before starting any sort of exercise program or using any Nautilus, Paramount, or free weight equipment.

Anyway, what caught my attention was the last sentence of the warning label.  It read:

“Replace this label if it has been damaged, removed, or is illegible.”

Think about that for a moment.

There’s no doubt in my mind that the anonymous bureaucrat responsible for the wording on that label is earnest, sincere, and has the very best of intentions, He is also a moron of truly epic proportion with a weapons-grade stupidity that will one day be the downfall of this great country.  Worst of all, each of us, including me, is helping to pay that man’s salary.  And as generous as we are with government salaries and perks, I have no doubt that he is married and has already infected the gene pool by breeding.

A dear old friend, now long departed, once remarked to me that the two least common things in life are common sense and common courtesy.  It was an uncommonly shrewd observation.