Here on Main Street: No Thanks

This is the time of year when we see all of the “What I’m Thankful For” lists. I’ve done them too. Everyone is thankful for their family and their friends and pretty sunrises and having a roof over their heads and the delicious peppermint mochas at Starbucks that help get them through the day. (I don’t go to Starbucks but I assume they have peppermint mochas.)

But life isn’t all raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, is it? There are many things in our lives that don’t fill our hearts with gladness and warmth. There are the little (and big) irritations, the moments that ruin our day, the frustrations: the things that we’re simply not thankful for and we can’t pretend we are anymore.

Here’s my list. These are a few of my least favorite things …

• People who don’t return their shopping cart to the corral
• Not hearing about something that happens with your family or friends, and their explanation for not telling you is, “Well, I posted it on Facebook!”
• Starting to get acne again at 60 years old (which is just cruel)
• Kidney stones
• Delivery people who leave my packages at the house next door
• When you go to click a link on a site and then suddenly an ad pops up right where you were going to click and you accidentally click on that instead and it takes you to another site (probably filled with malware)
• When I grab a tissue from the pop-up box and it doesn’t come out neatly and the whole box goes flying across my living room
• A BREAKING NEWS story that breaks into the game show you’re watching, just when you’re about to find out whether the contestant won a new car or not
• The drivers who think the STOP sign at the intersection outside my apartment is more of a suggestion than a law
• Companies that not only put me on hold but also think I want to listen to Kenny G for 22 minutes
• How pro sports is all about betting now
• Flip-flops
• The disappearance of TV theme songs
• The people who sit at the base of my apartment building stairs and leave old Dunkin’ Donuts cups and cigarette butts on the ground

I’ll end the list there. I think thirteen is enough. I’m sure you get my point. Besides, if I give any more examples, someone else could write their own “No Thanks” list and include this column on it. And who wants to be on a list like that?

(Oh, and thanks for reading this.)