Why We Can't Have Nice Things...

[Shanti]

I read that recently Target finally, officially, put an end to letting people use Target gift cards to buy other gift cards, because of abuse of that policy. Bummer...

That inspired me to make a list of nice things that we either can't have or that are sometimes hard to get, due to others' abuse or negligence. (It's a slow morning and I'm not feeling great, so this is my entertainment.)

• Buying Disney gift cards using Target gift cards

• Sudafed that actually works

• Liquid white-out

• Real rocking chairs

• Narcotic pain medication for people who really need it

• Diving boards

• Late-night swimming at WDW resorts

• Normal-sized toiletries in carry-on bags

• Being able to walk a loved one to their gate at an airport

Feel free to add on...

 

[cvjw]

Boarding an airplane without taking off your shoes. I hate this rule

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

When I deposit cash at the bank, they want a name. (It helps to stop money laundering)

If I was having a good day at Disney, I didn't need a scooter. But now it is the only way for me to sit down. And shorten my time standing.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Rubber cement--a staple in my elementary school days and beyond. Seems like this isn't as common now.

Having to be 18 I believe to buy certain medications that contain certain ingredients (goes far beyond sudafed).

Places that have had to tighten return policies.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We just got liquid white-out at work very recently (I prefer the tape).

 

[apirateslifeforme]

Inspired by my working in retail 20 years ago - getting a complementary gift box (if needed, by request, at any cashier) when making a purchase in a store. People would buy 1 item, but "I want [3, 4, 5] boxes." So our store no longer allowed boxes at the cashier; customers had to go to Customer Service and show their purchases - and receipts, because they still wanted boxes for purchases that weren't from our store.

 

[alizesmom]

Medication bottles you can open.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Medication bottles you can open.

Especially for those that need narcotic pain medication.

 

[Poohforyou]

I read that recently Target finally, officially, put an end to letting people use Target gift cards to buy other gift cards, because of abuse of that policy. Bummer...

That inspired me to make a list of nice things that we either can't have or that are sometimes hard to get, due to others' abuse or negligence. (It's a slow morning and I'm not feeling great, so this is my entertainment.)

• Buying Disney gift cards using Target gift cards

• Sudafed that actually works

• Liquid white-out

• Real rocking chairs

• Narcotic pain medication for people who really need it

• Diving boards

• Late-night swimming at WDW resorts

• Normal-sized toiletries in carry-on bags

• Being able to walk a loved one to their gate at an airport

Feel free to add on...

You may be able to walk someone to their gate. I'm able to get an escort pass for my mom to take her and pick her up from her gate.

 

[Shanti]

You may be able to walk someone to their gate. I'm able to get an escort pass for my mom to take her and pick her up from her gate.

It has to be a special circumstance, though. That's why I said in my post, that these things were either impossible or harder to get.

 

[goofyernmost]

We just got liquid white-out at work very recently (I prefer the tape).

Just as well, liquid white out only messes up the computer screen anyway and doesn't really change the error. In other words it was technology that put an end to the white out need not sniffing it.

 

[Ben E N]

The narcotic one I understand. People get on them because they really do need them, but they get too easily addicted. Those should only be around for the most extreme of cases.

 

[Shanti]

The narcotic one I understand. People get on them because they really do need them, but they get too easily addicted. Those should only be around for the most extreme of cases.

I think that decision should be strictly between individuals and their doctors. Pain should not be politicized.

 

[dotfurio]

Baby cough and cold medicine. I used it with my oldest, but it was banned by the time my youngest came. Fun times.

The good sparklers. The new ones suck.

 

[Shanti]

I guess I should add:

• Alcohol-based hand-sanitizer in classrooms in the school district where I teach.

The school board (which is primarily composed of people who have never worked in a public school or had any of their children attend one) banned it because "alcohol is bad for children". Yes, really. So is strep throat. We get a lot more of that in elementary classrooms than child alcoholics trying to drink hand sanitizer.

 

[georgina]

You may be able to walk someone to their gate. I'm able to get an escort pass for my mom to take her and pick her up from her gate.

You can get a pass in Pittsburgh just to go through security and shop in the airside terminal, so you could certainly walk someone to their gate!

I believe baby cough and cold medicine was banned because it is BAD for a child! I can't believe people are bemoaning safety things.

 

[Shanti]

You can get a pass in Pittsburgh just to go through security and shop in the airside terminal...

The Pittsburgh airport allowing that is pretty cool. They're the first airport to do that via their special PIT Pass, but so far, they are still the only American airport to allow it.

 

[dotfurio]

You can get a pass in Pittsburgh just to go through security and shop in the airside terminal, so you could certainly walk someone to their gate!

I believe baby cough and cold medicine was banned because it is BAD for a child! I can't believe people are bemoaning safety things.

Cough and cold meds were banned for children under 6 because of idiot parents who overdosed their kids.

"the FDA completed a review that found that between 1969 and the fall of 2006, there were 54 reported child deaths from decongestants"
(out of how many children that took decongestants during those years?)
""The Consumer Healthcare Products Association said the products were being pulled "out of an abundance of caution." Potential misuse of the medications, not product safety, is driving the voluntary withdrawal, the group said."
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/10/19/coldmed.fda/index.html

 

[ronandannette]

Cough and cold meds were banned for children under 6 because of idiot parents who overdosed their kids.

"the FDA completed a review that found that between 1969 and the fall of 2006, there were 54 reported child deaths from decongestants"
(out of how many children that took decongestants during those years?)
""The Consumer Healthcare Products Association said the products were being pulled "out of an abundance of caution." Potential misuse of the medications, not product safety, is driving the voluntary withdrawal, the group said."
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/10/19/coldmed.fda/index.html

KinderSurprises were banned for far less.

 

[Shanti]

I'll add to the list:

• Really good mainstream dramatic movies that starred famous actors and had great production values.

These days, it seems like everything is either a super-hero story, a military/cop/detective/spy story, a rom-com, a family animated movie, science fiction, horror film, or an obscure little art-house drama that few people see.

I miss the serious yet popular dramas with big budgets & famous stars. There used to be a few of those every year (Schindler's List, Out of Africa, the Godfather, Witness, Shawshank Redemption, Reversal of Fortune, Brokeback Mountain, etc.), but now they're a seriously endangered species, possibly extinct.