Columns
Hairy Situation & D.W.I. (Driving While Immature)
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
DEAR CAT: Every year my mother-in-law bakes dozens of kinds of holiday cookies for the family. This year, out of the first five cookies I sampled, I got two hairs in my mouth. I thought maybe they were mine and it was a fluke, so I grabbed another with the same result. The hairs were in different kinds of cookies, too. I broke the cookies apart the next day and found more hair baked in. Without a doubt, hairs were baked into all the cookies. My question: Do I say something, or is it way too late? She gave cookies to everyone in the family. She even tried selling her cookies this fall, and was complaining about her lack of repeat customers. I really donât see a polite way to bring this up, but she should probably know if sheâs selling people cookies with her hair baked into them. Is it my place to say something, or just wait it out until someone else does? — HAIRY MOUTH IN PA
DEAR HAIRY: Of course you should say something! That is utterly disgusting – funny, but still disgusting. Not only can hair carry a bevy of unhealthy, unappetizing microbes, but sheâs going to get a terrible reputation as a baker and a shedder. I canât help but wonder why there is so much hair in her food. You couldnât find one hair-free cookie? She needs to see a doctor. And a health inspector. And buy a shower cap, because a hair net wonât do it. Definitely, absolutely, 100% say something, but do so laughingly and sweetly. If her business is ever going to grow, she needs to know the truth. Catâs Call: Better to hear it from family than anyone else.
DEAR CAT: Practically every day fatal driving accidents involving young drivers are reported. I was a 16 yr old driver in the 1960’s and one major change since then is the emphasis on multi-tasking; these days youâre not doing anything if you are not doing three things at once. I was taught that driving a several thousand pound automobile should not fall under a multi-tasking activity. Although this problem falls into an âagelessâ category, younger drivers really need to be protected against themselves. I care about the youth of this nation and I’m all for raising the driving age to at least 18. I do know many mature younger drivers who can handle the stress on the road but without raising the minimum driving age, those who arenât mature will still remain on the roads. What do you think? — MATURE BEHIND THE WHEEL
DEAR MATURE: This is an especially hard call. There are many teenagers who are mature, responsible (for themselves and others), and appreciate consequences. Likewise, there are fully aged adults who guzzle booze behind the wheel or claim to drive better drunk or high than they do sober. But is an 18 yr old more mature than a 16 yr old? Probably not. But the law already treats those ages quite differently, which makes your question all the more compelling. Itâs doubtful the driving age will be increased, butâ¦Catâs Call: You make a very, very, very good argument.
I guess it is a good idea to tell the M.I.L. about the hairy cookies but you know it’s probably going to hurt her feelings. What else is there to do though? It’s unsanitary and I agree that if she’s trying to sell them she’ll have a bad reputation even if people like her.
— tina (pgh, pa) 01/06/2009 Reply
Good morning, Cat! I enjoyed this morning’s column, as always. Living in Florida, we have an interesting time of the year called snowbird season, when our streets become filled with folks escaping northern frostiness for a few months. They typically drive under the speed limit and will usually use signals, etc. The locals, however, discover an annual surge in blood pressure, though, as their usual NASCAR like pace is slowed considerably between Thanksgiving and Easter. Imagine the dangers of applying make-up, cellphone use, breakfast/lunch/dinner on the go, talking to children in the backseat (all the above simutaneously), AND trying to get around our winter guests. Sadly, the biggest culprits are not teenagers, though we have our fair share of under age 20 accidents, but adults. They may be the biggest multi-taskers of all, and they do it in cars. I’m sure Florida is not unique in that, but the added traffic in winter makes it stand out worse. Maybe we should get back to just DRIVING while driving the car!
— Jon in Bradenton, FL 01/06/2009 Reply
I just thought I would share my experience with the cookies and the hairs. A co-worker would bring me in Xmas cookies every year. They always had hairs in them. I never said anything to her about the hairs, then one day I visited her home during Xmas and saw where the hairs were coming from. She would place all her cookies she made on her dining room table, as I was sitting in the living room chatting with her I saw her cat walking all around the table where the cookies were placed. The hair was from the cat.
— A. Ragan - PA 01/06/2009 Reply
I have two comments. 1. Yeah it’s funny, the hair in the cookies, but because it’s his mother.in.law. If it was anyone else it’d be so disgusting and she could be fined by the health dept. if she tried to do cookies as a business. 2. Raising the driving age would teach kids how to get around without the luxury of a car. Yeah I know a lot of kids aren’t given cars but they usually know someone who has one and they never learn how to meet bus/subway schedules and plan ahead. It’s a good idea.
— tttmayson, pittsburgh 01/06/2009 Reply
Cat there isn’t anything about love & dating today – what’s going on??? Just kidding, The driving age should DEFINITELY be increased to 18. In my first years of driving (I’m 35 now) I was an idiot. I was still an idiot at 18 but by then I was paying 100% for my car and insurance and we started taking cabs on drinking nights. I think that’s harder in Pgh because it’s not a “cab city” but most 16yr olds are idiots with no real responsibility in life. At 18 you can be put in prison as an adult but at 17 you can kill someone with a car and walk away? It doesn’t make sense. Here in L.A. it seems we probably have more wild, spoiled teenagers on the road than anywhere, and I for one would welcome an older driving age.
— John in L.A. 01/06/2009 Reply
The hair in the cookie question is gross. That’s my fear of doing workplace or neighborhood potlucks. On the driving age topic: there should be a curfew for under-18 drivers. Not that all accidents happen at night but that is when most teenagers drink and drive. There should be severe consequences if that curfew is violated, like one strike and you’re out.
— anonymous (pittsburgh) 01/06/2009 Reply
I am responding to the driving age question. No, I don’t think the age should be raised….what we need are more cell phone laws, and enforcement of all traffic laws. I don’t see that in Pittsburgh, ever! Responsible 16 year olds should not be penalized for the infractions of their peers. Teenagers need to be able to transport themselves to jobs and activities. Don’t forget parents are ultimately responsible for their children, if they feel their children are too immature, they don’t have to sign for the permit. What I would really like to see, is mandatory testing for all seniors over the age of 65 on a yearly or bi-yearly basis. They are the ones that I see causing the most accidents. (I’m 60, and am more than willing to go through the testing in order to prevent accidents caused by slow reaction times, or confusion)
— Mary Pittsburgh 01/06/2009 Reply
The driving age issue has more to do with parents than anything else. I couldn’t wait to drive but from the age of 13 or so on my parents made it crystal clear that EVERYTHING about having a license and a car would be up to me. They told me about tickets, accidents, insurance, maintenance and I knew if anything went wrong I had to deal with it. It made me responsible, and I’ll do the same thing when I have kids.
— ted. in pittsburgh 01/06/2009 Reply
Dear Cat, Your comment comparing an 16 and 18 year old maturity is painfully misinformed. A large body of research has been done on this subject in Injury Epidemiology that strongly suggests that delaying licensing until age 18 decreases risks of crash significantly (and of course, subsequent injury). This is why many states such as CA and NC have graduated drivers licensing (GDL) programs. Without getting into technical detail, issues such as a drivers experience has been considered, yet by far, the largest risk factor for crashing was a drivers judgement, which as all adults know, comes with maturity.
— Dave, Sacramento CA 01/06/2009 Reply
In the comment by Dave in Sacramento he’s connecting dots that can have alternate explanations just to call Cat “painfully misinformed.” It is common sense that you have a greater risk of crashing if you’re a driver vs. a non-driver. Can you say “duh?” If 16yr olds don’t drive, 16yr olds won’t be crashing cars. I agree with a graduated licensing program is a great idea. But an inexperienced 18yr old driver, like one who is living away from home for the first time, is a scary thought on the road. Look at any college town on a weekend night for proof.
— david chicago, il 01/07/2009 Reply