You never know who's watching As I was driving through town recently, I noticed an SUV in the lane next to me, with a vanity licence plate. The plate identified the driver as the owner of a local business, and I thought how clever the plate was-- subtle but still promoting the business to drivers following behind. That's one of the basic aspects of advertising and promotion-- keep your name in the public eye, to remind them that you are in business. I was in the centre lane, and the outside lane was tapering the traffic into one lane-- the lane in which I was driving. Suddenly, the SUV driver sped up, got about a half car length ahead of me, then yanked the wheel over, and cut me off. I actually had to stand on the brakes to avoid a collision. Now I'll admit, I was downright annoyed, especially when the SUV turned right, into a driveway less than a half block further along the road. My first thought was the driver was a total jerk, cutting me off to get in front, then pulled into a driveway a little ways further. It wasn't as if there was heavy traffic at the time-- just an impatient driver. I drove on, pondering what had happened, and made a mental note that the driver of the SUV (obviously the owner of the business) would never, ever get my business, not in a million years, if I happen to need that particular service. That driver would be the last person I'd turn to. I drove a little further and another thought hit me. Not only was the driver of that vehicle a jerk, but a complete idiot. The vanity plate identified the business-- and the driver's actions showed the disregard for others-- put it together. It's not a good thing to do if you are in business. The last thing a business owner should do is tick off Mr. or Mrs. Joe Public. I later spoke with another person who used to work in a professional office in Etobicoke. Years ago, one of her co-workers in that office was driving to work in stop-andgo traffic. In the car beside her, an older gentleman was trying to merge into her Vision 2000 Exclusive Bonus: US $400 per stateroom Onboard Credit 7 Independent & Free Press, Thursday, December 15, 2011 EMBRACE THE TROPICS Ted Brown lane. He finally pulled in, and in the process, cut her off. Annoyed, she blew her horn and gave him the one-finger salute. Later, she pulled into the parking lot of her office, and went up to the medical office in which she worked. She prepared for the first patient of the day, and walked out to the waiting room to escort `Mr. So-andso' into the doctor. There sitting in the waiting room was the same gentleman to whom she had given the less than courteous gesture just minutes before. He wasn't impressed. In fact he told her so, in front of the doctor, her employer. I'm sure she would have gladly rewound the previous 20 minutes of her life, and have taken a totally different approach. A couple years ago, I was driving in another situation where the traffic was congested. I was in my proper lane, but a fellow pulled around the corner head-on into my lane as his lane was blocked. For some reason, he was annoyed that I was in his way, in spite of the fact that I was in my proper lane. He gave me the finger. Then he realized he knew me-- matter of fact, he'd known me for more than 20 years. The next time we met, he tried to laugh it off, but I didn't let him off the hook quite that easily. I asked him why I deserved the finger when he was in the wrong? He finally apologized, and said he was `in a hurry'. So the moral of this story is, if you're going to be an idiot or a jerk in public, you just might wanna rethink it. 'Cuz you just never know who is watching. 30 Day Circle Hawaii, Tahiti & Marquesas Islands March 4 2012 Roundtrip San Diego aboard ms Rotterdam Ocean-view stateroom US $4,649 p.p. + $158.67 taxes Georgetown Fare is in Canadian dollars, cruise only, per person, based on double occupancy and subject to availability at time of booking. Based on category E. Government taxes & fees are additional as stated. Fare can be withdrawn without prior notice by the Cruise Line. Vision 2000 Exclusive bonus is subject to availability and can be withdrawn without prior notice. Ship's Registry: The Netherlands. 905-873-2000 328 Guelph St. Georgetown, ON TICO Reg #50018501 Open Saturdays 9am - 4pm w w w. v i s i o n 2 0 0 0 t r a v e l . c o m of the week Across 1. Bohemian, e.g. 5. Wood sorrels 9. "Come here ___?" 14. Daughter of Zeus 15. Eastern music 16. Australian bush high-pitched call 17. Appraiser 18. Crazily 19. Gown fabric 20. According to plan of action 23. ___-friendly 24. Egg cells 25. Business premises (3 wds) 33. Surrounding glows 34. Away 35. Chief magistrate of Venice 36. Biochemistry abbr. 37. Device to extract water from wet laundry 41. Casual attire 42. "Darn it!" 44. Adaptable truck, for short 45. Defeat 47. Those who study the atomic composition of light 51. Bank offering, for short 52. Fishing, perhaps 53. Improper spacial arrangements 59. Operatic villains, often 60. French novelist Pierre 61. Wading birds, such as herons or storks 63. Apportion 64. Corker 65. "___ Smile" (1976 hit) 66. Equals 67. Check 68. Deuce topper Down 1. "___ Cried" (1962 hit) 2. Pasturelands 3. Assist, in a way 4. Wart Cargo van donated: Halton Region donated three decommissioned vehicles to local St. John Ambulance branches recently. On hand for the presentation of a donated cargo van to the Oakville-Milton and Halton Hills branch were, from left, Greg Sage, Director of Emergency Medical Services, Halton Region; Gary Carr, Halton Regional Chair; David Dutka, Medical First Responder, St. John Ambulance Oakville-Milton and Halton Hills Branch; Chuck McCormack, Chairman of the Board of Directors, St. John Ambulance Oakville-Milton and Halton Hills Branch and Tim Bauer, Branch Manager, St. John Ambulance Oakville-Milton and Halton Hills Branch. Submitted photo 5. Bloviates 6. Picture-taking device 7. All excited 8. "The Open Window" writer 9. Paper folded to make eight leaves 10. Twill-weave silk with a printed design 11. Cost to cross 12. Evasive 13. Formerly known as 21. Cockeyed 22. French philosopher, founder of positivism 25. Farm buildings 26. Increase 27. About to explode 28. The fifth of the seven canonical hours 29. Grooved on 30. Carries 31. Bond, for one 32. Marsh growth 38. Bucolic 39. "Am ___ believe ...?" (2 wds) 40. Indian coin 43. Buy-one-get-one-free item? 46. Tickler of the ivories 48. Pride and prejudice, for example 49. Saddle seat back 50. Heavy metal 53. Drone, e.g. 54. "Cast Away" setting 55. Misfortunes 56. Joint problem 57. Alpine transport (2 wds) 58. "Your majesty" 59. Protestant denom. 62. "Come to think of it ..." CONCEPT 361 Guelph St. (Hwy. #7), Georgetown Puzzle answers at www.conceptford.com "We won't lose a customer over Price" 905-873-1626