By JT Szabo

I recently came across an interesting piece of information on how our state government wanted to spend a percentage of it's impending Federal stimulus cash.

Now, like a lot of you, I've been around Ohio for quite a while, and unfortunately I was rather unsurprised to find out that our Governor wanted to allocate close to 10% of the Federal stimulus monies destined for infrastructure...to TRAFFIC STUDIES.

Studies, of course meaning paying an outrageous sum of money to a "consulting firm" who gathers data on how roads are used. Sound like a racket? It pretty much is. Hmmmmm. How are Ohio's roadways being used? The answer, unfortunately, is increasingly becoming "to get out of Ohio". But that's for an entirely different rant.

My point today is simple. Ohio's leadership felt it much more important to dedicate a lot of money to "study" our roadways, while our actual roadways rot and deteriorate continuously. Oh, and by the way..."studies" don't "Stimulate" anything more than the consultant's wallet.

Fortunately, dear old Uncle Sam felt it necessary to step in and tell our Ohio leaders that they were essentially missing the point. And not a moment too soon, as our economy is firmly strapping itself in for the full brunt of the automotive shutdowns coming soon.

The Feds claimed that they would rather see the "Stimulus" money go to actual construction projects that, you guessed it, would stimulate construction jobs, and therefore our local, regional and eventually national economies.

So, today I will play the part of "Pro-Federal" and congratulate them for stepping in and preventing our Ohio leadership from making a huge mistake that could cost us all in the long run.

As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments. 

By JT Szabo

Dear Mr. Driver of the silver PT Cruiser whom I almost collided with in Troy Tuesday:

What's the hurry?

First, in case you can't recall the situation in question, let me refresh your memory. I was driving on West Main Street in my blue pickup truck, on my way home and minding my own business. You, in your silver late-model PT Cruiser, were in the process of beginning your entrance onto the above said street via a driveway in front of the Trojan Village shopping center.

Obviously, you're perceived right-of-way into oncoming traffic and thinking nothing of it was more important than the extra four to seven seconds of idling. And that's just above you.

So, as you might be surprised to learn, when you decided to bolt out of that driveway like an enraged bull shooting from the chutes at your neighborhood rodeo, I was quite perturbed at the scenario you had graceful dropped upon my buckled in lap.

Swerve, slam on the brakes, or T-Bone you into oblivion?

My preferred option would have been #3, but fortunately for you, and your insurance companies (both auto and medical), my love for my little blue pickup truck had me immediately spring to action to avoid your silver PT Cruiser. Bummer eh?

So, with the speed of a professional race car driver and finesse of a personal assistant, I was able to fit you into our fast-moving and congested lane of travel. You're Welcome.

Now that we've gotten the specifics out of the way, let me get back to my original question: What's the hurry?

Your disregard, or rather inability to regard, the surroundings you are in, specifically the traffic pattern presenting itself in front of your windshield is astonishing. How can one look at a busy street and say to themselves "ok, looks good to me" and just jump out into it?

So, wrapping my brain around this for quite some time, and I have come up with a few possible reasons for your erratic actions (in no specific order):

 1: You drive a PT Cruiser. Strike One.
 2: The discount tobacco store must have been closing soon
 3: You FAILED drivers ed. Just like high school huh?
 4: You are the most important person on earth. Obviously.
 5: You spend so much time on GTA3 instead of finding a job.
 6: You are a pizza delivery guy. I do like my pizza fast, after all.
 7: You drive a PT Cruiser. Strike Two, pal.

I could go on and on, but I don't want to.

So, what has me upset about this seemingly small line item in my Tuesday routine? Well, I had mostly forgotten about this incident, as I mostly shrug this kinda stuff off. UNTIL I had to cover TWO serious car accidents on the same street at about the same time on Wednesday.

Those accidents were a sobering reminder that this could have happened to me a day earlier. I wouldn't wish that on anyone...except you, Mr. Silver PT Cruiser.

We all live in Miami County, Ohio. There is absolutely no need to put each other's lives at stake for something so trivial as forcing your way into a busy street without consideration for everyone else. It is ignorant, dangerous and illegal, and I hope that should you continue to endanger the lives of our innocent neighbors and friends, you should receive what is coming to you...be it legal or worse.

Ok, with my rant over, it is time to get back to enjoying life. 'Cause, you never know what may happen down the street.