Obituary printed in the London Times.....Absolutely Brilliant !! Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has 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 valuable lessons as: - Knowing when to come in out of the rain; - Why the early bird gets the worm; - Life isn't always fair; - and maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-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. Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights I Want It Now Someone Else Is To Blame I'm A Victim Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing. Now is there anyone willing to give birth to a new Common Sense to make our jobs easier? Badger

Barrie - thanks for sharing the obituary with us, even though most of us have probably seen it before from time to time. In my opinion, it's only amusing in a wry sense because, sadly, it's a summary of how attitudes and behaviours appear to have deteriorated over the past few decades or so. One example of this can be found in recent press articles about a man who collapsed outside a hospital entrance. It was reported that some people who saw what happened simply responded by using their mobile phones to take video footage of the circumstances - for what? to put on YouTube as a bit of transient sensationalism or to sell to a newspaper perhaps?! An even briefer summary can be made as follows: 'Too many people nowadays know their rights, but too few know their responsibilities'. The term 'responsibility' is a wide one and encompasses consideration and general duty of care to oneself and other people. If individuals could be encouraged in various ways to develop and promote a common attitude that rights and responsibilities go hand in hand, perhaps there's hope of proving that common sense is not totally dead and, more importantly, can be revived! :-)