Warning: Are we getting just a little too cautious?

ROSLYN RYAN Editor

“Is that…safe?” a friend asked me the other day, as she watched me poke a lit match into a hole on the side of my gas grill.

She was over for a visit, and we had decided to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather by barbecuing some chicken for dinner.

I promised her the match maneuver was totally safe — that all I was doing was circumventing the grill’s busted igniter—but something told me that she wasn’t quite convinced. My friend, to be fair, tends to do things by the book. She always drives the speed limit and always wears her seatbelt. She abides

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Parents must be aware of what is happening in our local schools

Dear Editor,

The “woke mob” is alive and well in Goochland! I saw this well organized, well coached group at work the last Goochland School Board meeting on Tuesday evening, Feb. 14. These folks are disciples of the DEI cult. They espouse the glory of diversity, equity and inclusion, by expiration dates. She doesn’t stand on the top step of a ladder or eat unwashed fruit.

To say that we are opposites when it comes to all of these things would be fair. And while I am no daredevil by any stretch, I do enjoy a somewhat casual relationship with safety protocols from time to time.

But I might also note—with a hint of dismay—that our modern world has become a place where being careful is stressed at every turn, so much so that we are rarely given the opportunity for plain old common sense to develop.

Don’t get me wrong, most of these safety warnings are a good thing. Anything that aims to keep children safe, for example, is worth noting no matter how obvious it might seem. But there are some warnings that just seem to take it too far.

From the minute I wake up I am being told what not to do. My hairdryer warns me not to throw it in the bathtub. My car reminds me that I need to put my seatbelt on. My drive-thru coffee order warns me on the cup that it is hot (isn’t that what I wanted?).

I don’t ever remember seeing any warning labels about the big stuff over the years, nothing about picking the wrong college major, lending your car to your least responsible roommate or marrying someone you met on a beach three days earlier. But the bag of chips I ate with lunch today had four separate allergy warnings and my washing machine has a sticker that reminds me not to put people in it.

I’m not anti-helmet or in favor of taking the warnings off dangerous products. But do I need to be told that the sleep aid in my medicine cabinet may cause drowsiness? Apparently I do.

I mentioned all of this to my friend the other night as we cooked our dinner. Satisfied that the chicken had reached a safe internal temperature (it was printed on the pack), and that the grill had been turned off (I double checked), I handed her a plate and warned her that it might be a little spicy. After all, you can never be too careful.