There was a feature in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, begun in 1994, entitled ‘The Vent,’ in which anyone (almost) could submit a grievance for public perusal. I think it was a great way to release some frustrations. Some vents were funny, some goaded infrastructure for road repairs, etc.; there were opinions on many topics, rants and raves. I did not subscribe to the AJC, but I did call in a vent once. So, I have written about a few of my ‘vents’ for your enjoyment.
WHY IS IT that when you are running late for work, an appointment, a doctor, a wedding, you are already stressed… ARRGGHH… and you encounter EVERY red light in your path? Each delaying stop causes more steam from your ears and bursts of profanity. However, if you are in NO particular hurry at all, all traffic lights are green! And…leisurely…you arrive early.
Why does hardly anyone use a four-way stop correctly? I am sick of people usurping my turn! The proper order is... the first car to arrive should be the first to leave; the second car should leave secondly, and so forth. I only see it done correctly about half of the time. Last month, when it was my turn, a driver (in error) nearly rammed my car, viciously blowing the horn; it shook me up. When I got to church, my priest said, “Your guardian angel was looking out for you.”
What about turn signals??? No one uses them properly either! You wait and wait on the oncoming car, unsure if you have enough time to turn. Then, AS they are ACTUALLY turning, they put their blinker on??!! That’s useless! You need an advance notice of their intentions. It’s SO easy with modern cars, (1968 >); just a milli-second to move your left hand one inch?? Then, voila, there’s a shining and blinking turn signal. When I learned to drive in the dark ages (that’s before internet, cellphones, smart cars), we had to roll down the driver’s window manually, [no power windows until late 1970s], stick our left arm out of the window, even if freezing rain, sleet, whatever. If you planned to turn right, you held your left arm out at a 90-degree angle, stiffly, palm facing oncoming traffic. If you wanted to turn left, your left arm was extended straight out. Still used as signals when riding bikes.
Professional phone manners need to be utilized more! I get calls which sound like this … “Is THIS Carol ?” I never say ‘yes’, as it is a scammer’s TOP technique to entrap you, (especially <OLD> people). I politely inquire, “And who is calling, please?” Then they will say, ‘Oh this is so and so’s office calling you about an appointment.’ Those are important calls, so PLEASE identify yourself...“Hello, this is Nurse Rachet calling from Dr. Spock’s office, may I please speak to Carol?” Proper and professional.
What about ‘unsubscribe??’ That’s a joke! It never works! I can unsubscribe over and over to certain sites, yet they keep sending. Why do companies sell our personal info?? They say they don’t, but they do, and there’s really nothing you can do about it. Sales calls from ‘unavailable’... just got one at 10 p.m. At least five or six a day of those. I just learned a trick; if you pick up the receiver and say ‘hello’ (voice prompt), the robocaller will start in on you... “Are you there?” (wanting a yes answer to hook you) or... “Can you hear me?” (wanting a yes answer). Remain SILENT!!! If you reply ‘yes’ to them, you might be suckered into buying whatever they are selling and… EGAD… inadvertently giving them access to your bank account. You might… EEK …need a lawyer to disentangle yourself! Did you know that during the horrible COVID years, cybercrime increased by 400%! “If these crooks/hacks are so freaking clever, why can’t they get real jobs?” That question was posed to me by a daughter-in-law cleaning up her 85-year-old mother-in-law’s bank account, after it was hacked.
Litter everywhere! I have been passionate about litter since I was 16. Wrote a high school paper on it. KAB (Keep America Beautiful) was founded in 1953, and I was A PART OF IT. As an adult, I was with KCNB (Keep Covington Newton Beautiful). At the state convention, a scientist addressed us on the psychology of littering. It’s called the ‘broken window’ theory. Let’s say there is an abandoned or uninhabited building in good shape. Gangs of teens go by, one throws a rock, smashing a window; they all cheer, then join in. Once the first one did it, that opened a gateway for others to follow suit. So, once that hypothetical window is broken, it’s a free-for-all, leading to greater crimes. My neighbor, Bryant Autrey, and I pick up litter on our street EVERY day. You would not believe some of the things we have found. There is a man who lives near us, rides a golf cart in our neighborhood. We think that he is the culprit, throwing little liquor bottles. He drinks the airplane-sized bottles, only two brands, and tosses them on our street. In one year of counting, as of January 28, 2026, we have collected 125 of them!
Carol Veliotis is a local columnist for The Covington News. She can be reached at carol.veliotis@gmail.com.
