One of my all-time favorite movies is Big, starring Tom Hanks. It cracks me up every time I see it. One of the scenes that stands out for me is when Paul is with his girlfriend and mocks Josh (Tom Hanks):
I love that “I don’t get it, I don’t get it” line. Josh’s naivete is due to his age, but there are many things I don’t understand, and my age has nothing to do with it. For example, have you ever noticed those signs posted around public schools that say “Drug Free Zone”? What is the purpose of those? Do drug pushers stop in their tracks when they reach those signs and say, “Drat! Guess I can’t sell any of my drugs here because this is a drug free zone”? I’m thinking not. Judging from the kids who sat in stoney silence in the back row of my classroom with their glazed eyes staring vacantly, I don’t think those signs meant anything to them either. In fact, maybe they thought the signs read “Free Drugs Zone.” So do those signs serve any other purpose than wishful thinking? I don’t get it, I don’t get it.
Another thing I don’t get: Have you ever been driving on the highway, surrounded by trees on either side, and seen one of those communication towers with fake pine branches sticking out of it? The tower is a good 30-40 feet above any other structure, natural or man-made, and somebody had the great idea that sticking fake pine branches out of it would somehow make it blend in? We’d think it was just another tree, although an impossibly tall one? Who are they kidding? I don’t get it, I don’t get it.
I heard that Bank of America is going to charge $5.00 every month if you use your debit card, but you can avoid that charge if you keep $20,000 in your account. So let me get this straight. If you have enough money that a measly $5.00 would never be felt, then you don’t have to pay it. But if you are struggling to make ends meet, then you’re out of luck, too bad, so sad. I don’t get it, I don’t get it.
Finally, would someone tell me why Columbus rates a federal holiday, complete with bank and post office closings, but it took us until 2000 for all fifty states to observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day? Columbus didn’t actually set foot on our soil, and he wasn’t even a very nice guy. Should foreign exploration and imperialism be rewarded with a national observance? I don’t get it, I don’t get it.
There are many things in life that leave me shaking my head. How about you? Tell me about them.
Coming East 
I’m a fan of “Big,” also! I don’t remember seeing the communication towers you mentioned. That would seem a bit odd. I thought I read something about having the “drug free zone” signs posted made it enforceable.
I’ve never heard that about the drug free signs. It should already be enforceable because it’s against the law to have drugs. I haven’t seen the towers around here,Patti, but people in other parts of the country have seen them. They are so ridiculous!
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From an old post of mine by the same name
http://oldereyes.wordpress.com/2010/08/05/i-dont-get-it/ , rap music,reality shows, taking dogs shopping, male body hair removal, tattoos and those baggy pants down to the butt,
I’m sure we could both go on forever.
Just read it and thought it was great! It would be fun to keep doing those “I don’t get it” posts once in awhile.
Big is one of my all-time favorite movies, too! and I just saw some of those silly fake trees up in Flagstaff. Here in Arizona, they are now making giagantic saguaro cacti – HILARIOUSLY stupid! I don’t get it either! And I have to agree with the Bank of America crap going on, too.
One of my big “I don’t get its” is why chain restaurants feel it is imperative to load up all their meals with SO MUCH FAT and SO MANY CALORIES? I mean, if you’ve ever looked at nutrition information at Chilis, Applebees, Red Lobster, Olive Garden (pick one!), you scratch your head and conclude, “They had to work REALLY hard to make it THAT bad for you.” We’ve pretty much stopped eating at all of those places for those reasons. I’m sure it’s all about catering to the addictive components of food, but still… It seems crazy, all the same.
Now you got me thinking… I could go on and on about all the things I don’t “get” in this crazy world.
Thanks for adding to the list, Melissa. I actually think people would eat out more if there were more restaurants that offered healthy food. We eat at home for the same reason.
Thank you! For your comment about Columbus Day. I mean really, why is that holiday still celebrated! There are so many issues with Columbus now anyway. And I really missed getting mail yesterday. By the way, Big was on this past weekend and I watched it. That movie is always great and I always cry at the end.
Glad you agree, Leah. Columbus Day makes no sense to me. When I was growing up, I loved it because it meant a day off of school. Not a good reason for a holiday.
You’re certainly not alone! I don’t get it either about any of the things you mentioned and that Bank of American thing just makes me mad. (I’m glad I’m not one of their customers!) Speaking of banks, here’s one of those “I don’t get it” ideas. At my bank, the drive-through ATM has Braille above the key pad. Huh?!?! I really don’t get it! 😀
That Braille thing cracked me up, Mama!
In California, our fake tree communication towers look like palm trees and they blend in much better than the pine tree version. They are strange, but I do like being able to make cell phone calls from most places.
I’d love to see the palm tree ones, Shary. I don’t mind the towers; I just don’t understand why they spend money on trying to disguise them when it certainly doesn’t work. You must have some HUGE palm trees then!
So mine is – while our country is tottering on the brink of becoming the most obese and unhealthiest nation in the world, the only fix we see is Michelle Obama planting a vegetable garden. Why not a big campaign for people to stop drinking gallons of soda and eating cheese for every meal? I don’t get it.
Guess the big thinkers are otherwise engaged, HG, but don’t know what they’re engaged in.
I don’t get any of the things you mentioned, either. Particularly the bank. I’m shopping for a new one because I’m so mad at them for that move. Other things I don’t get: gated properties for which the gate does not encompass the property (the bad people can just walk around, you know)… the need to shut down two lanes of a highly-traveled interstate for three miles before you get to the work zone that spans about 100 yards (I’m sure there’s an engineering formula for this, but mostly it just causes traffic nightmares)… reality TV shows (um… they’re not the slightest bit realistic)… the need for Algebra 2, Trigonometry and Calculus to be taught to the masses (apologies to the teacher).
Fun post!
You hit on some great ones, Single Cell! I remember my math teacher in high school telling us that we would use trigonometry some day. Um…I’m still waiting. And we just came across the work zone thing this past weekend and were so annoyed at the traffic tie-up that was so unnecessary. Plus, aren’t you glad those “reality” shows don’t project reality? What a nightmare world that would be (I mean worse than the nightmare it sometimes already is)!
I don’t get it either!:) thanks as always
Thanks for visiting, GCB. I always like to hear from you.
Good points (and BIG is one of my all time favourite films too!). Don’t get me started on the communications towers trying to look like nature… in the UK they’ve been running a competition to design a new style so that they will apparently blend into the landscape. What they don’t mention is that they kill birds, potentially harm health, wreck the landscape, ruin the tourist industry and bring down house prices… and however they’re made to look, in no way to do they look ‘natural’. (Sorry about that – we’re fighting a campaign at the moment to stop pylons being put across quite a lot of mid-wales).
Did banks ever make any sense? Or public holidays? Doubt it! 🙂
I had no idea you were dealing with the same nonsense with those communication towers, Val. How interesting!
Well bravo, CE. You must be reading my mind because I’m with you on trying to figure these out. Fun post and deep too. 🙂
Thanks, E.C. I want to try to remember to jot down things that perplex me when I see them so I can write another one of these blogs. Or maybe others will tell me what they don’t get.
haha, too funny! (I hate to say it but I love the tall towers that look like pine trees — they amuse me 🙂
They amuse me, too, Julia, but I also wonder why they bother. Surely they have better things to do with their money!
Ha! We’ve got those “trees” here too. I don’t get it, either.
Well, Kelly, someone must have thought it was a good idea. Wonder how much they got paid for that!