Why?

I arrived in Palm Desert yesterday afternoon from Salt Lake City. It was a nice 84 degrees when I arrived. On the flight down I thought about a number of things, each of which caused me to ask "Why"?

1. We have had seat belts in cars since the early 1960's. Almost 50 years. Why does the government require flight attendants to show us how to use our seat belts on the plane. Is there anyone on a plane who does not know what a seat belt is, or how it works? Have you ever heard someone on a plane ask "What the heck is this thing? What do I do with it?. A seat belt? What is it for, how does it work"?

2. Many convenience store have a tape measure attached to the inside of their entrance doors that indicates height to assist clerks figure out the height of the robber who just left the store with the till money and a donut. Seems like a good idea. However, these tape meassures start at 4 feet. Why? How many third graders, midgets or 90 year old grandma's rob convenience stores? "Well officer, she threatend me with an umbrella so I gave her the money and some prune juice. Based on the tape measuure there by the door I would guestimate that she was about 3 foot 11 inches tall. She was using a walker when she left with the money about 30 minutes ago. Oh there she is, she is still going through the parking lot."

3. Why does the person ahead of you at the bank drive thru never start their transaction until they are at the window? Why are they not prepared? Why isn't their deposit slip filled out? Why isn't their check endorsed before they arrive at the window? Why do they want to convert yen or Euro's to US Dollars at the drive thru? Why do they want to apply for a home loan at the drive thru? Why am I always behind them?

4. Why does the government require stores to post the following warning on their entrance doors? "This door must remain unlocked during business hours"? Is there really a chance that a merchant will have his front door locked during business hours? Does the merchant really need a written reminder to unlock the door? Can you imagine at the end of a day with no customers, the store manager slaps his forehead as it dawns on him that the reason there were no customers that day was because the door was lock. We need a sign.

5. I don't skin dive. The last time I was in an ocean was 9 or 10 years ago. However, when I am looking to buy a new watch why is one of my criteria the maximum underwater depth that the watch can withstand pressure. I recently almost bought a watch for the sole reason that it was good underwater for up to 300 meters. Wow, that is 1,000 feet. If I am 1,000 feet under the surface of the ocean. the current time is likely not my biggest problem.

6. I was at a Mexican restaurant in Indian Wells a few weeks ago. Why do two, 8 ounce margarita's cost more than one 16 ounce margarita.

These are just a few of my Why's. If you have any, leave me a comment by clicking on the comment button.