Letting the Gate Slam

 I have not given up getting my unpublished book “The Split Second:  In Consideration of Others or Look Up from the Phone and How to Deal with Rudeness in Others” published. There is some “pushback” against my concept of a society where we all get along and are nice to each other. Then there are others who have been wonderfully supportive of me to go on with this project. I am incredibly grateful to them. I hope I can get the good word out there. That is the hard part for me, right now.

A big part of my book reflects part of the subtitle, “In Consideration of Others” which I borrowed from a television commercial from years gone by. I want to apply it to a consideration of people in the housing complex where I live and moved into just a year ago. There is a front security gate. When most of us enter or exit the complex, we find it quite easy to have the gate slam hard and make a loud noise that most of us can hear inside our homes. The dog in the first unit hears it every time and gives his “blessings” as someone comes in or leaves with his loud barking.

During the day, I do not consider it obnoxious or even bothersome if I hear the gate slam and then the dog barking. However, I was given a list of rules to try to follow when I moved in. One of those prominent rules was for all of us to maintain 10:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. as a quite time. This should apply to the gate as well. I will take my morning walk anytime from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and when I do, I will open and close very gingerly so as not to disturb my neighbors, including the ever-present watchdog. Doing so does not make me a wonderful human being. Still, there are some neighbors of mine who will let that gate slam past 11:00 p.m. and even into the early morning.

“The Split Second” would have us all thinking about the noise the slamming gate makes during the “quiet hours.” I do realize that someone may be carrying large and/or heavy items. I realize someone may be dealing with small children (but at those hours?). Nevertheless, some consideration for neighbors would be nice. I think we would have a nicer world.

My book is about thoughtfulness for others and openly showing it. Many have told me that this is slipping away in society. I believe that we can truly become a society where we can all think of others as we “go out in the world.”  It must start somewhere, and I am willing to be a pioneer to bring it back into society.