The Journal Times Online - Racine, Wisconsin

Traffic in Burlington...do you also get bent out of shape over spilled milk?

Milwaukee and Racine don't even have really that bad of traffic. I have a hard time imagining that getting through Burlington could take more than ten minutes on the worst day. And wow, by the local Bijou too...maybe everyone is longnecking to see what's playing.

And don't move to Kansasville. They even have a four way stop...and sometimes there are three cars. Then, Waterford has 3 or 4 traffic lights last time I went through there, I bet that even makes the 5:00 news out there in Hooterville.

Give me a break! Traffic in Burlington is an issue... That's about as serious as having to circle the parking lot twice at Regency to get a spot closer to the door.

You are right...it is you! If it upsets you that much, move...of course, you'll probably still have your biggest problem...YOU.

There are people in this country out of work, hungry, worried about rising crime, how they're going to pay for gas, don't have medical insurance -- and you're worried about traffic out in Hooterville.

There are only two traffic lights in Waterford (the one on 36 doesn't county to us residents)and almost everyday we have our local police at the intersection where 20 turns off Main. Because we have only one bridge in Waterford to allow you to cross the river......it is only annoying because half the non-locals don't seem to grasp the whole "ignore the sign and pay attention to the man in blue with the whistle and baton".


Burlington traffic is getting really bad and it's become more of a safety issue than one of playing with the radio out of boredom while the train passes through. Turning left onto the new bridge from 36 can be quite the daring feat most times. Also, I had to take my mom to the hospital there (near St Mary's) and it was a pretty upsetting thing to deal with that traffic and those intersections when in need of medical help.

God, thnk1st, you are such a fricken grouch. There is a survey on here somewhere you should take ;)

"getting really bad..." Come on Kay, it's a town of maybe 10,000. How BAD could it be? I would bet good money that she's lived there all of her life...maybe went away to college. Or, she has lived within ten miles of where she was born or grew up and never really been out in the world.

Chicago has bad traffic. Even the traffic in Milwaukee, other the downtown junction where 43 & 94 come together is on the light side, at least until the recent road construction.

It's just not what she's used to and knowing these small towns, has increased in the last ten years. But to make it a BIG issue was pretty silly. It's inconvenient but "bad," I doubt it.

There are some big issues. This just wasn't one of them. It's like people going on and on about the weather and how cold it is, or how much snow there is. This is America...if you really hate it...move!

Bad is having your home destroyed by a tornado like the one that hit in Kenosha County. Bad is a drive-by shooting. Bad is finding out that lump is cancer. Bad is losing your house because you lost your job. Bad is when your son comes home in a box from a distant war zone. But traffic in a small town, that's just an annoyance.

And I'm not a grouch...most of the time, I'm the optimistic one on this blog.

I just really grow very, very weary of those who whine about insignificant issues. I heard someone going off recently because they screwed up their order at Taco Bell. Kay, it was Taco Bell. How much could it have been -- $5? Far too many Americans have become a group of whiners and need to grow up and get some perspective on what true problems are. So there!!! :)

We live in Burlington so we don't have to deal with the BS of cities like Racine or Milwaukee-- it's our town, and if there is something we don't like about it, we have every right to voice our concerns. Or maybe we should just keep telling ourselves in a mind numbing mantra: "well, it's not as bad as they have it somewhere else... so maybe I should just not worry about it..." and then pop another Prozac.
This week alone in our little town I was almost hit by a car TWICE while riding my motorcycle, one came within **inches**. But I suppose compared to the horrors in the Sudan or the struggles of the little children in orphanages in China I should just keep my concerns to myself-- at least then I wouldn't be troubling anyone, least of all you, right?
STFU, dude. Your comments are really irritating.

Thank you summer! That's my point. Re-read her blogs. Even when it is a positive blog, there seems to be some dig in there for someone or something.

The Farmer's Market was a praise but was also a burn, "I am so excited that we are finally getting a farmer's market in Burlington! It won't be stuck in the parking lot near the Vet's building—it will be a REAL Farmer's market..." So what was it before, an artificial farmer's market with actors?

Veterinarians that care -- "Thanks Dr. Molitor and believe me, the human doctors could learn a lot from you." Are there some loser human doctors? Sure! But there are some loser vets too. But it had a big dig on doctors. And the medicare bidding disaster makes me think that she does home care and has some ax to grind.

Her Chocolate Fest blog: "I will agree that choc feast is just one big expensive carnival. The people of Burlington lose out on having the feast in town, with all the overtime and expense that the people have to pay the police. The carnival is just to costly for the average family. 3.00 for Water. Most of the vendors were from out of town. The local ones they don't want in because they might compete with the carnival. Why can't we leave Memorial Day alone and for the veterans and have the festival on the third weekend of may. This is terrible of how we treat the people that gave their lives for us. We couldn't even make it over for the ceremony at Echo park lets not bow down to the carnival and return the feast to its own weekend." She knows what the average family can afford and pontificates about it. And out of town vendors are bad because they are serving out of town people???

Her more positive blogs seem to be only posts of someone else's material.

Everyone has a beef periodically but write2thepoint seems to continually have one. And most of the stuff is so trite that it's not worth complaining about.

If we're going to complain about traffic in small towns, let's also start making major issues of long lines at the grocery store, the slow service at the post office, summer re-runs on TV, traffic lights that aren't timed right, too much rain, poor food quality at McDonalds, stale popcorn at the theater, taped recordings of nearly every company that also talk to you in Spanish before telling you what number to press, neighbor's dogs barking, my kid not getting enough playing time by the coach, stores that have the ac on too low, stores that don't have the ac low enough, etc., etc., etc.

Those are the petty annoyances of life that everyone goes through. 1) It's not worth getting upset about. 2) It's certainly not worth drawing attention to by griping about or worse, blogging about it.

Anyway, I'm done. By now I've ticked off lulu enough, she's going to be ticked enough to drive into the crime capital of Racine to find someone and pay to have me "whacked." :)

Oh, geeesh, I should have come back here and read all this before I wrote to you personally, thk1st.
You sound just like me on one of my rants around here (home).

want to figure out how to do a joint post/rant together? I think we could each do a line on what is petty and what is important and the how and why we think people focus on the small stuff.
Maybe this joint needs a little bi-partisan action going on just to mess with people's minds? ;)

Think First: you need a hobby, one that doesn't involve disssecting the thoughts of other people (and at such **incredible** lengths-- your rants are far more irritating than those of 2 the point, and a clear indicator of a huge vaccuum in your life-- of time, of no one else to talk to-- no wonder why you're crabby and disagreeable).

I'm back to my handwringing about the poor Sudanese; and packing for a trip. Sorry I'll miss the riveting (and lengthy) follow up.

Thanks Lulu and Kay--you two are great!