The Lynda Parcells Blog - 660News Calgary

I’m not sure who’s in charge of painting the lines in parking lots, but I’m convinced whoever it is, must drive a Smart Car. Considering a ton of people in Alberta drive gigantic vehicles, you would think the spots would at least be big enough to get out of your car or truck without banging the door next to you. I admit I do drive a very large vehicle…a Ford 150 Supercrew, but my husband and I also drive a Mazda 6 and we run into the same problems when with it.

The other day I was picking up a friend from the airport. I thought I would just grab a spot in the short-term parking and then run in. Well, it turned out to be a much more difficult task. I managed to squeeze my big truck into a spot, but when I opened my door….I couldn’t get out! I was in between the lines, but I was still so close to the other vehicles, there was no way I could possibly get out…and I didn’t even have luggage! I had to keep looping around the parkade before I finally found an “end” spot.

The parking lot at 660News is ridiculous. There’s a bit of road-rage on a regular basis in our parking lot when people are coming and going, trying squeeze their vehicles into a spot. And don’t even get me started on doing a grocery run. Heading to Safeway can be one of my biggest nightmares. I really don’t consider it a ton of a fun when you have a cart full of groceries and you can barely get your door open to get anything in.

Look for your bonus word above and enter for points.

What the heck is going on? I’m pretty sure it all started when the media went absolutely crazy the night Britney Spears was spotted getting out a car without any underwear on, but apparently a new phenomenon has hit our city; girls not wearing panties, even if they’re wearing very short skirts. Nice.

A few of my girlfriends (who are all in their 30’s) decided it would be fun to go down memory lane and hit one of the nightclub’s we used to frequent in our younger days. Boy how things have changed. My one girlfriend said she was absolutely horrified when she spotted a girl, about 20, bending over to pick something up with her bare butt, not to mention everything else hanging out! My girlfriend thought this was just a one-time deal. Boy was she wrong. She soon realized a lot of girls in the bar were wearing very short skirts with no underwear. And according to my friend, the girls had no problem just letting everything hang out for the rest of the world to see. We even have proof. My girlfriend used her cell phone to snap a photo of a girl just casually chatting away with a guy with her skirt hiked up, and you guessed it, her butt hanging out! I’d love to post the picture, but it’s a little too x-rated for our website.

I’ve done some investigating and according to the guys of the 20-something crowd, it’s no big deal and that’s just what girls do these days…..are you kidding me?!! I don’t know about you, but in my day, we wore jeans, polo shirts and sweatshirts to school. I actually can’t think of any girl I went to school with that would have even thought of going without a bra, let alone a pair of underwear, especially while wearing a skirt….and a short one at that!

I know it doesn’t apply to every young girl, but it seems to me that self-respect has completely gone out the window. That’s the only answer I can come up with. Why else would you want to let your private parts hang out for the world to see?

Is it just me, or does it seem like the race to the White House in the U.S. has switched from Barack Obama versus John McCain to Barack Obama versus Sarah Palin? I’m starting to think John McCain is one smart man. Only McCain knows for sure why he picked Palin as a running mate, considering she seems to lack the experience it takes to help run the most powerful country in the world. Most people assume she was picked, not only because she’s attractive, but to help win over the Hillary Clinton voters. I’m starting to think she was picked to take the focus off of McCain and the fact he’s not as young and vibrant as Obama.

Since picking Palin as a running mate, McCain has taken the lead from Barack Obama in the race to the White House. The poll shows McCain is now ahead, 50 percent to 46 percent. And get this, the addition of Sarah Palin to the Republican ticket prompted 29 percent of the voters surveyed to say they were more likely to vote for McCain.

It seems all John McCain has to do now is stand by and watch all the action happen. When I say stand by, I mean literally. Whenever I see the McCain/Palin team doing their thing on T.V., it’s Palin who’s speaking and McCain who’s standing on the sidelines looking a little meek and mild. Like I said, John MCain is one smart man.

I have to say I’m very surprised by the reaction we received this morning. Calgary Transit is cracking down on potty-mouths as part of its Crime Prevention and Safety Awareness Campaign. Riders caught swearing could get a $100.00 fine. I actually think it’s a great idea. I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand it when I’m forced to listen to people swear their heads off. Having said that, I have been known to drop the odd f-bomb on the golf course, but I really do try not to make foul language a part of my usual chatter.

When we talked in the newsroom about doing this story, most of us thought the $100.00 fine was a great idea. That’s why I’m so surprised by some of the comments we received…..

“It’s ridiculous. Some people swear, what’s the big deal?”

“I disagree with it. Everybody swears. What are you going to do?”

“I usually swear in normal conversation.”

“I think we’re plenty civilized. I don’t think we need someone telling us what we can say.”

One person made the comment that Transit Security has a lot better things they could be doing, such as catching people who deal drugs on C-Train platforms. Now that is something I agree with.

Drop me a line and let me know what you think.