Best of luck, Bob.

Seems to me the "time outs" I was given as a child weren't helpful at all. (They called it "standing in the corner" when I was a kid.) I've always thought that the concept of time out has been misused. If you've got a child that is too hyped up or busy having a tantrum to listen, then it's time for a time out - a cool off period. Maybe that's what I'd call it. "Let's take a moment to cool off." Instead of being a punishment, more of a lesson in counting to 10 before saying or doing something rash. This might be helpful for me as well...

I hope your wife recovers quickly and the tests turn out fine! You're in my thoughts. :)

Bob, my thoughts are with you and your wife today as well. I hope you've rested and they have information for you soon.

Greg~ That's what he gets. Happens to my husband all of the time and he always, um, just stays firm in his direction? One time, I was so fed up. We were walking up the trail at Torrey Pines. Some parts were narrow but, actually, these parts had room for two people. These sets of people, dressed similar {meaning, they looked like they were not dressed for a hike, as were the majority of people on the trails}. They would not move. At first I was like, oh, they are busy in their conversation. Or, we were coming around a corner. They took up the whole path. After a few times I stayed to the right and pushed on through. Did not say excuse me. I was pissed. Respect is not given to those who don't deserve it.

Jenni~ My dad just made us sit on the couch and chill for a bit. Not that you need it, but, do you guys ever watch 'Super Nanny'? I love her way. I wish I'd have seen her show. My kids were good, but, I wish I had known how to be more, um, hmm, structured? Without feeling like I was taking over? I hated how it was my moms way or no way.

Anyways, yes, I think she approaches the time out like you stated. To give them time to think about why they were put in time out. And, not in a corner. After the time passes, I forget if you have to make them explain if they understand why there were there and you are supposed to hug and end on a positive note.

How would you feel if a car did that to you?

Bad....but then I don't stand on the road talking on a cell phone.

Oh my - hope everything is okay!

I meant it a bit differently - if you were on your bike and a little into a cars path.

I know people can be jerks - pedestrians, bike riders and cars alike. I just don't think it really helps to be jerks back even if they deserve it. People can get hurt too easily... without health insurance (or with actually) you could totally alter the course of someone's life just to get back at them. Unintentional consequences, etc.

I don't equate what this guy was doing to being "a little into a cars path." If you want an equivalent, try picturing a bike stopped in traffic lanes with the rider on a cell phone. This wasn't a guy walking down the path and not moving over (which I never expect or demand), or standing at the side with a leg on the path. He was standing fully on the path, on a cell phone, with his back to traffic. HE was posing a hazard, and if my barely-risky little move woke him up to that, then I've done a good thing. If it didn't, oh well.

He deserved to get a scare. I wasn't going fast enough to do any serious harm, even if I had miscalculated (the odds of which were very low). The only risk was if he, not having been paying attention, took a step the wrong way. But then, even if I HADN'T done what I did, that would have been a risk because of where I was standing. I didn't create the hazard, he did, I just decided to point the hazard out to him in a way that I hoped would get his attention (because I guarantee you if I had just said something I would have just gotten a dirty look).