People Just Don't Care Any More!

Okay, I know I tend to get a little grouchy about these things, but over the past few weeks, I have truly come to understand that people just don't care about how they look.  In public, I mean.

Today, my mother was taking me and Spenser out to eat.  To a restaurant.  Not a fast food place, but a restaurant, where you are seated, have a menu, and are served by a waiter.  Inside a building.  I made Spenser change into pants (he put on jeans, which is somewhat better than grass-stained shorts that go down to the ankles) and a decent shirt before we left.

Now, when I was growing up, jeans were only for working in a garden, or play.  They were not worn to church, or to a restaurant, or fancy functions.  They could be worn for fun teen outings.  Being the thoroughly modern (haha) lady I am today, I let my son get away with the jeans thing.  I guess that most people are pretty happy with the whole "anything goes" philosophy, but, to me, it just seems like laziness, and maybe even a loss of some self respect.

To some extent, I give a little bit of a "pass" to younger folk, but at the same time, I'm thinking, "what did your parents teach you?" I do not give any free passes to people slightly younger than myself, or older than myself. I can't imagine that all of these people were brought up to believe that it is okay to wear tube tops with no bras and shorts into a restaurant. I can't believe that all of them were raised to believe it is okay to wear crappy $1 flip flops and whatever they were wearing when they got out of the pool, into a restaurant.

Part of me just says "screw it." If an 800 pound person can wear a sleeveless top into a public place, then dammit, so will I. People will just have to deal with the fact that I need to do more tricep exercises. But that's just a very small part of me. The larger part of me, the side that has a sense of propriety, says, "I'm not going to subject others to looking at my body parts hanging out or jiggling inappropriately."

I don't care if it's 108 degrees outside, have some decency to at least wear a bra and some short sleeves, ladies.  I'm not saying you have to wear a damned burka, just cover up a little bit more.  I don't want to see your boobs, your fluorescent white legs, and most of all, your gross feet.  When I'm eating.  In a restaurant.

I would even be willing to cut folks some slack if we lived in some resort town or close to a beach.  But we don't. This is Albany, not Daytona.  I know, I should be a little more laid back, according to mostly everyone else. I find it strange, though, that I'm the only one who thinks these things.  I did see some appropriately dressed people in the restaurant, but we were in the minority.

 This, to me, is all part of that whole "decline of humanity" thing of which I was discussing a few months ago.  People don't care any more.  Or, they do, but they are just going along with everyone else's lack of caring.  Which might be worse!  Come on, people!  It only takes an extra twenty seconds to don a bra and some pants!  Cover it up!