I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “It’s the little things that make a big difference.” At a glance, the sentence seems oxymoronic, but it’s truly amazing what a big difference little things can do when we change our behaviors and start doing these little things. Over the past few months, I’ve been thinking about lots of little things and how they truly can make a big difference if more people would just do them.
During the height of COVID I noticed how many people would lick their fingers to separate papers or open bags in the produce department at the grocery store. It was an action that I had seen before, but it really caught my attention when we were all so worried about spreading germs. It had always been a strange habit to me; my parents never did it, so it hadn’t been taught to me. I had always been a bit repulsed when I was handed a paper that someone had licked their finger first to separate it from the other papers.
I thought for sure that this habit would go away with COVID, that people would finally realize that it was not sanitary. However, I have noticed that it has come back in full force. People don’t seem to realize that when they lick their finger to help them separate a paper or bag, their finger has recently been touching numerous things and now those things have entered their mouth. Additionally, they are now sharing their saliva with whomever they are giving the item. Please find a different way to separate paper, money, and bags that is more sanitary!
There are many crosswalks painted on the streets in areas other than intersections with streetlights. Admittedly, sometimes the paint has faded over time, but nonetheless the crosswalk is still there. I’m amazed with how many times drivers just drive right through these when pedestrians are standing there, waiting to cross the street.
The crosswalk gives the pedestrian the right to cross the street and a safe way to make it from one side to the other. Unfortunately, many drivers just ignore this fact. Pedestrians shouldn’t have to stare down drivers to make sure they are noticing that they in a crosswalk. If more drivers would just do the little thing of being more aware of the locations of crosswalks, especially in areas where they regularly drive, then our streets would be safer for pedestrians.
Pedestrians can help out drivers as well when they are crossing streets with streetlights. Some intersections don’t have as much traffic, but cars are still required to wait for the light. Pedestrians shouldn’t be crossing the street just because there isn’t traffic. They should press the button to indicate that they need to cross, which will help the cars that are also wanting to drive across the street. This will cause the light to change, allow the cars to drive through, and thus help pedestrians to cross the street safely with them.
I always taught my daughters that one way to respect their elders was never to address them by their first names. The little action of adding Mr. or Mrs. to a person’s last name showed respect to the adult they were talking to. If the person was close to us and they heard me frequently addressing the person by their first name, then I would teach them to call the person “Miss Mary,” for example. The same held true for my and my husband’s siblings. They were never to address these adults by their first names; they were Uncle Jon or Aunt Sarah.
I made the mistake as a child of throwing trash out the car window. I had seen this on some TV show and thought that it was the thing to do (unfortunately in the 1970s there was a lot of littering going on). My mother slammed on the brakes, pulled to the side of the road, and asked me what I had done. I told her I was doing what I had seen the people on TV do. She pointedly told me that those people were bad and that we did NOT throw trash out the window. She then turned the car around and made me get out and pick up the trash. Needless to say, I didn’t ever do this again.
I taught my daughters that “Pockets are Portable Garbage Cans.” With this motto, they knew that if they ever had something to throw away, but couldn’t find a garbage can, they should just put it in their pocket until they could find one. Many times I have found wrappers when I am doing the laundry, but I’m sure glad to find it there instead of having this trash flying around outside. This little action of not littering and even picking up the trash of others has helped to reduce the trash we see outside.
While the playground taunt, “You can’t change the world” on the surface seems true, we can start to make a difference by simply starting to do little things. There are other little things that I thought of as I prepared to write this column, but for now this group of little things will suffice. These will help us to reduce the spread of germs, protect pedestrians, show respect to elders, and make the outdoors a cleaner place. Think about what little things you can do to make a big difference in our world and then start to make little changes as you see big difference happen all around you.
Little things can make a big difference
June 6, 2024