Hi Cheri, I really appreciate Arthur. He's one of the few I refer to as having his head screwed on straight! Busy Bee Forums are quite new, and I'm excited about them. It's always a pleasure to see people sharing in a community atmosphere. God bless, Dave

Hi Gary, This is one of my pet peeves, too! I could write a long list of really stupid lawsuits where the knucklehead victim won, but one that really stands out is the one where the "victim" was a burglar. Apparently, the owners of the house were on holidays when the burglar got into their garage. Once inside, he realized that there was no way for him to get into the house through the garage, so he went to leave, only to discover that the door he entered through did not offer him the luxury of exiting, and the garage door offered no way out either, as the owners had a fairly sophisticated security system (I don't know how he actually made his entry in the first place.) Anyway, since he was trapped in the garage, the thief spent the next two weeks eating dog food and washing it down with softdrinks that were stored in the garage. When the owners arrived home, he was, of course, arrested. The long and short of it is, the man then sued the owners of the house for unlawful confinement and received a very nice sum of money for his efforts. Go figure! Grrrrrrrrr..... :-( OK - why don't sharks eat lawyers? Professional courtesy... God bless, Dave

Hi Dave! I loved the title. lol. It reminds me of the story I read about the two sons of a man who is on death row for multiple cases of rape and murder. One son is also on death row... also for rape and murder. The other son is the pillar of his community. Boy Scout leader. Volunteer fireman, volunteers for charities, has a good job, provides for his family, etc. When a journalist interviewed both sons separately, they both said the same thing. "LOOK at my father. How could I turn out any other way? I couldn't!" The only thing I don't agree with Arthur about is the "old coot" part. Common sense isn't saved for us older folks. There's lots of people that lack common sense in today's generation. But there's lots of "old coots" that lack common sense, too. It's always been easier to point the finger, shirk responsiblilty, blame someone else or say 'woe is me' than it is to pull up one's bootstraps or use our heads. As Pascal said; "Common sense is NOT so common." It should have been called UNcommon sense. lol : ) Linda P.S. Cheri - I agree completely. I have found the same thing. It's hard work for me to let it "roll off" but I'm trying.

Dear Dave, I believe the decline in common sense gathered downhill momentum with my generation. Divorce suddenly became acceptable in the 80's. And parents that stayed together and the new families made from his and hers marriages found that one income no longer was sufficient to support the family. If no one is home to raise the children, no one is teaching them common sense or morality. Some may be able to juggle a career and family, but most let t.v., computers and nintendo babysit their kids--then wonder why those children grow up with no common sense and think it's okay to start shooting if they don't get their way. We have the MTV and Fast Food generation--more and more people think life's problems can be cured with a shortcut because of it, instead of learning that you have to work and sweat to get what you want in life. I agree wholeheartedly with you and Arthur--there is no common sense anymore. And this comes from a not-quite-that-old coot. Sincerely,

Dave, Another sickening example of abject criminal stupidity resulting in a lawsuit was the well known crook who fled police into a forest. He stayed there for several days in freezing conditions thereby avoiding capture for his crimes (I forget what they were). Finally, he staggered out of the forest and collapsed. He required hospitalisation for frostbite where he had several fingers and toes amputated. Then he went to his lawyer. Together they sued the Police Department for failing to capture him thereby putting him in his disadvantageous position. I think the charge was professional negligence. How bloody stupid was that? Yes, nobody is responsible for anything anymore. Just do something stupid, blame everyone else then run for your gold-digging lawyer. Gary Simpson