When Dan DeQuille wrote for the Territorial Enterprise of Virginia City fame, back in the 19th century, he used this depiction of a braying, angry, miner's burro. He always called it, as did most of the prospectors of the day, "A Washoe Canary." Below are some of our brayings, that is, Washoe Canary Songs.

When Do We Really Become Adults?

by Johnny Gunn

At what point in our short stay on this earth can we actually say we are grown up, we are adult? By law, we can be tried for a crime as an adult at 18 years. Again, by law, we can be considered an adult, therefore able to buy liquor at 21 years. And, only adults of a certain age or older are given the right to register to vote, and elect our leaders. But are we really adults only when we reach a certain age? Shouldn’t other factors come into play?

A woman, 34-years-of-age, general manager of a boutique, mother of two, registered to vote, holding a valid driver license, would probably be considered a mature adult by most standards. Is it adult thinking then for her to send her children to school despite them having a high temperature, runny nose, and deep chest cough? Is that considered the mature and reasoned way of doing things? Or are we looking at childish selfishness? She’s been exposed to the bug as well, but if she sends the kids to school, she can then go to work and infect so many more. Defensively, she might say she has to go to work to support those children, but a more adult approach would be to hire someone to watch the children or simply stay home herself and watch them.

Her thinking ended with herself, not with the children, certainly not with all the other people infected by her children. This is not the tempered thinking of an adult.

A man, masters degree in economics, vice president of a local bank, 40-years-old, driving a Lincoln Navigator, would be looked upon as an adult, probably a community leader, by sight alone. Never mind the credentials he carries. Why then does he have to be told to slow down when there’s snow and ice on the roadway? Can’t he understand what snow and ice do to a roadway? You know, make it slick as a pig farm walkway? Is he so important that the laws of physics don’t apply? Others must watch out for him, you see. He is just as dangerous in his selfishness and lack of thinking about his own situation as the woman above.

A reasoned and thinking person would see ice and snow, and say, “This will be nice slow drive to work this morning.” Or even give consideration to taking a cab or the bus. One can’t drive on snow and ice in December the same way one drives on dry pavement in July. Unless of course, one can only see himself getting to work on time, and to hell with those around him.

Both of these make believe citizens have real life counterparts, we meet them everyday, are forced off the road by arrogant young ladies in monster SUVs, made sick at work by the fool coming to work with a serious case of influenza, who thinks he’s being a good employee by making the entire office ill. This is not a gender issue, but rather, an issue of human nature. At some point, we have to take a look at how we want to be judged, an adult, or the selfish playground bully.

There are responsibilities that come with this age of adulthood. Often it’s called an age of reason, but that idea simply doesn’t hold much water any more. For a grown person to seriously inflict disease on coworkers, for a grown man to have to be reminded to slow down when driving in snow and ice, for a mother or father to have no regard for their children’s school mates and teachers, is not being an adult. Selfishness and arrogance are not the hallmarks of adulthood.

And don’t even bring up the concept of let’s make a law. No. We have so many unenforced laws now, one more wouldn’t mean a thing. Those who run the schools must send sick children home. No questions asked. And if the parents are unwilling to come get a sick child, call social services. That could be an attitude changer. Bosses, supervisors, those who run businesses must send sick workers home. The bottom line is not enhanced by the worker who never misses a day, no matter how sick, when the entire staff misses several days because of that unthinking, uncaring, selfish worker.

A mature, reasoning, adult thinks about those around him or her. We’re back to that old bug-a-boo called common sense which more than any other human trait is the one most often abused. Common sense says keep a sick kid at home, slow down on ice and snow, don’t go to work and sicken an entire work force. So simple. So why do adults need to be told?

The Nevada Observer would like to know your thoughts on this and any other subject you feel is important to the citizens of the Silver State. Send your thoughts to:

johnnyg@nevadaobserver.com

To be considered for publication, letters to the editor must be signed and accompanied by a day time phone number, but if you would rather not have your name in print, we will honor that. Do your best to keep your comments under 150 words, and we simply won’t print anything deemed slanderous or libelous.