Warning ... Contents Hot ...

Maybe I'm becoming a curmudgeon ... but I have to wonder: Why does a take out coffee cup have to have a warning label that tells us that the contents are hot !?!?!?

Doesn't the simple fact that coffee is hot mean such a label is redundant??

I know the why for the label ... some lady pulled out of a drive thru at the Big M's and spilled coffee on her self, and she found a lawyer who sued the company because the coffee was hot, and the cup was unlabeled with a warning ... The catch 22 in this is - if the coffee was lukewarm, she likely would have sued anyway because she wanted HOT coffee ...

Now, I won't posit the blame for frivolous multi-million dollar law suits at the feet of greedy lawyers. Most lawyers are decent hard working folks who just want to provide for their families ... I think problem lies with people who have simply lost their common sense ...

Do we need to be told the contents of our morning coffee are HOT?

Do we really need to be protected from falling off playground structures?

Do we really need someone ELSE to pay when our foolishness or carelessness causes us hurt because ACCIDENTS happen?

It's a matter about common sense ... something we've lost ...

In this spirit ... I offer the following announcement of the passing of a old and dear friend we haven't heard from much lately ...

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Mr. Common Sense.

Mr. Sense had been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such value lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn't always fair.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge). His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned, but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Mr. Sense declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student; but, could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Finally, Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense truly gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot; she spilled a bit in her lap, and was awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by two stepbrothers; My Rights and I'm a Whiner.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

Next time you spill coffee on your lap ... learn from it, don't call a lawyer ...