Dateline Dayton – Today I am going to share some pet peeves, not in any order of importance.

• I am at a loss to understand why some service-type facilities, especially restaurants, use the very thin toilet tissue in their restrooms. It can’t be cost-saving because you just use more. It can’t be due to not having to change the roll as often. By using more, the roll unspools as quickly as thicker paper. Further, it is difficult, at times, to get tissue off the thin rolls, creating an extra mess on the floor.

If people would judge where they eat by the restroom, many wouldn’t be in business. The problem is more evident in the larger chains, whom you would think would be on top of the problem.

• The flip side of the cleanliness issue is how sloppy the public can be. I would hate to see some homes if their treatment of public restrooms is a gauge. My fellow men are the worst. But then I don’t see the condition of the women’s restrooms. Why they can’t use a urinal properly? Or at least have the courtesy to lift the seat.

• One additional thought on restrooms: The person who doesn’t realize why he went into stall. So he sits and ponders. One guy at my work used the restroom stall as his telephone booth. Where did he go before cell phones?

• Screaming children do not belong in church, especially during the homily. I am not saying don’t bring children. I realize they can’t sit there all the time without saying something, crying, or letting out sounds, sometimes even loudly. My complaint is about parents who don’t have their child under control. They should take the child out of the sanctuary instead of disrupting the entire congregation. At times, the correcting parent is noisier than the child. Same for restaurants or other public venues. It is okay to raise your child by the book, but there are times you must use it!

• Drivers who don’t know how to navigate a four-way stop – or realize that a nonworking traffic signal is a four-way stop.

• A car that is too big for the driver, especially among the elderly, a driver unable to see over the steering wheel or out the back window due to the size of the car. This is especially prevalent pat the Post Office. Get a car that fits. Why cause an accident while trying to impress someone with the size of your car?

• The money being spent on political campaigns is outrageous. How much of the world hunger problem could be solved if the money spent on useless campaigning were channeled to that cause? I don’t need to see the person running for office on television every night and his picture in the newspaper daily. Tell me what you stand for and what you hope to accomplish. I don’t need to know how terrible your opponent is. Worse, in some manner you and I are paying for this excessive campaign spending.

• The number of political phone calls we receive is ridiculous. Not a day goes by that we don’t receive one or more. Because we vote, they are allowed to harass us, especially during supper.

• House numbers. Ever tried looking for a house number? They can be anywhere – or nonexistent. This past weekend I distributed a door hanger for the Kettering Council term and salary issue, which will be on the November ballot. To cut costs, they only wanted the piece to be placed on the homes of registered voters. It was difficult for me to locate house numbers, and a couple didn’t have any. Have you looked at your home? If you had an emergency, could the responders find your house?

I hope your pet peeves isn’t having to read pet peeves of others.

Mr. Hennessey may be contacted at pmhenn@sbcglobal.net