Spare the Air, Dammit

Courtesy: Daily Mail

Traditionally, the Labor Day weekend marks the end of summer. It’s the time when we look forward to autumn when the weather turns cool and becomes more comfortable.But not in California where temperature still goes to 100 degrees in some places.

Yesterday, the weather in the San Francisco Bay Area was so bad that local authorities declared it a ’Spare the Air’ day.

’Spare the Air’ organizers has referred to it as a giant social experiment to encourage people to leave their cars at home. They believe it would help save our planet. Yt’s estimated that every car driven on the road contributes about a pound of pollution per day.

As if to remind everybody that autumn doesn’t officially start until September 22, the sun keeps its sizzle for good measure.

If yesterday was bad, today is much worse. Today is sweltering hot. It’s smoggy, too. But, interestingly, it didn’t meet the criteria for the ’Spare the Air’ honor. What gives? Have the authorities been caught taking a nap this time?

It used to be that when a ’Spare the Air’ day is declared, everybody got a free ride to work of his choice of public transportation, but not anymore. That was way back in the good old days (two years ago?) when the state coffer had plenty of moolah to splurge.

Still, the idea behind ’Spare the Air’ is worthy of our support.

Its success depends not only in leaving the car keys behind and taking public transportation but also in helping ’Spare the Air’ inside the train or bus as well.

It wouldn’t help the cause, if, in an attempt to rush to work, we forgo routine personal hygiene.

For example, if you unconsciously sniff on your armpit before getting on the train, it’s a bad sign. Don’t hold your breath. Take a deep breath and let reality sink in. it maybe better for you to drive to work or call in sick instead.

In a crowded place, our sense of smell gets an extra lift. Every kind of odor permeating in the air is magnified to the limit. It spells trouble for passengers with sensitive olfactory nerves, which could lead to sneezing and outright fainting. As a result, the following rules are recommended to benefit fellow passengers:

1. Men shouldn’t be allowed to wear heavy cologne or grease their hair to make it shiny. They should also use deodorants that are odorless. If they aren’t sure, they shouldn’t raise their hands and hold onto the overhead rails. Be considerate of small people whose noses are just about at the height of your armpits.

2. Women shouldn’t wear a combination of hair spray, perfume, and hand lotion, especially if they are approaching middle age. The combined power of these smells could be compared to a wicked punch. It would knock you down senseless even without you knowing it.

3. For both men and women, don’t ever fart, especially if you had spicy food for dinner. There’s no way anybody can escape inhaling it. But, in the unfortunate event that you can’t hold it any longer, release it slowly and stare at your neighbor when the odor starts to spread. Everybody around will look in his direction with disdain when they get the drift. It worked for me in grade school.

Practicing common courtesy and observing the above rules would encourage more and more people to take overcrowded public transportation whether it’s a ’Spare the Air’ day or not. What do you think?

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