"I generally trust people."....why?!

Trust is something that certainly needs to be earned. Whether it's someone in your family, a close friend, a coworker, another random acquaintance or even a perfect stranger, it's crucial to know that if you need to rely on them, you can. Some of these instances could involve your well-being. Don't you think that's worth the satisfaction of knowing if a person is to be trusted or not? They could be relative to your personal belongings. Isn't it fair to say that you would like for whatever it is you own to remain in the condition it was in when that person was left responsible? I know I do. Do you have something personal that you want to tell somebody and not have news of it spread like a plague? I sure hope you can absolutely trust that person with the message you're about to deliver. These are some of the things I think about when I need to determine how much I trust someone, because too many things can go wrong, and that's what I want to talk about today.

A trust fund is an integral part of friendship equity. Admit it,

that's comedy genius; chalk another one up for Johnny Mullet.

I work in an environment that houses heavy machinery for tasks that a person can not physically handle all on their own. In order to use one of these machines, you are required to go through hours upon hours of safety and instructional lessons to learn how to operate them, followed by a 'driving test' of sorts that requires certain tasks to be performed in order to obtain a license. Now that I am one of these trainers, I make sure that the individuals I am teaching are all fully capable of using these machines without needing me around later on. Why is that so important? Well if they screw up and cause any sort of damage, violate some safety standard or end up hurting somebody (including themselves), it might not only come down on them for making the mistake, but also the person who handed them a license. One could easily argue that I am responsible for any incident that could come up, citing that I was too quick to hand them a license. I'm not willing to take that chance, so I need to be able to trust that the person is absolutely ready for it.

I would not want to be responsible for something like this.

In regards to driving, that's another thing I would want to know: that I can be a passenger in your vehicle and make it from A to B in one piece. Obviously, you can't just assume you know how a person drives before you actually ride along with them for a first or second time. After a maximum of two rides, I feel like I can gauge whether or not I want to be in that car with them. If they can't prove to me that they aren't complete maniacs on the road, then I'll find another way to get where I need to go. I don't care if you are a close personal friend, family member or coworker, if I haven't been in your car more than once or twice when I've had a choice in the matter, it's very likely I don't trust you as a driver. By the way, you don't need to drink or text while your driving to be terrible at it. That just makes you exponentially worse than you already are. Both can wait until you get where you need to go, period. Some people just hop right in and don't think of what the consequences could be if the person behind the wheel is a complete buffoon. What makes them so worthy of your trust? Their personality might not necessarily reflect their driving capabilities, so keep that in mind the next time you choose your chauffeur. 

Not photoshopped. Imagine being trapped in the passenger seat.

That leads me to one of the most significant possessions that you'd want to protect: your car. There are so many angles on this one thing alone. First, are you going to allow someone else (not covered by your insurance, mind you) to just hop in and take your car for a spin? Refer to the previous paragraph to help in your decision. If that plus the lack of insurance coverage doesn't deter you, then by all means, be my guest and let them drive. How about when you drive someplace and have to park in a public lot? I even keep my guard up when my car is parked and I walk away from it. How? I make sure that I park it alongside a curb or some inanimate object that I know will not be able to inflict damage to it. As long as I am covered on one side, I only then need to be worried about the other side being hit. I'm willing to cut my odds in half every time, no doubt about it. Then you're probably wondering why I'm so worried about my car getting hit in a parking lot. That's easy: pay attention to the way other people drive around you on the road. People on the phone, texting, sometimes drinking, putting makeup on, not looking before turns or lane changes, all of which are happening while they are speeding, weaving through traffic, riding your ass or cutting you off. Suddenly you have no problem parking in any open spaces? I hope I opened your mind to rethinking that one. Who's to say they don't drive just as crazy in a parking lot than they do out on the road? There's no sense in giving them the opportunity. We all invest way too much money and time in our vehicles to risk someone else f'n it all up. Without even knowing it, you all have put your trust in these strangers to not royally screw up and ruin your day. Think twice next time you park in the vicinity of others.

This may not seem like a real possibility.

You clearly underestimate human nature.

On to your personal thoughts and feelings, things I take highly into consideration, whether you believe me or not. Most of you, that is. The truth hurts, folks. Anyway, when somebody tells me something in confidence, I hope they understand that I'm not going to divulge that information to anyone else, especially if I know it could negatively effect them. Of course that is unless you wrong me tremendously, then you're just giving me ammunition to use at my discretion. If you come to me with a problem, worry, concern or need for advice, I do take that seriously and would not do anything to break your trust in me. With that in mind, I keep many of my own issues bottled up inside. There are some I open up to, but it takes a ton of confidence in those people for me to do so. Some of them are not necessarily the same people I trust as drivers, but there are different prerequisites for each. The people that air out their issues to just about anyone do so for attention. Either that, or they are naive enough to think that everyone is capable of keeping a secret. By naive, I mean stupid. Here are a few examples of people you should not share personal information with:

• Frequent gossipers
• Individuals that you have yet to determine how much of a friend that person really is.
• Someone who is on Facebook all day, every day
• Family members that never had a problem embarrassing you throughout your childhood, and continue to do so to this day
• Jerry Springer

This should help you narrow down your list rather convincingly. I can't promise that your secret will never get out, but you are greatly reducing the risk by following this suggested list of trust offenders. Thankfully for your sake, I don't qualify for any of those. Just to reassure you all, I'm definitely not Jerry Springer. True story.

There's a real winner.

And now for my final thought...er...sign-off. Put some thought into who you trust. Your life, possessions, thoughts, religion and sexual preference might depend on it. Okay, maybe not your religion...

Condescending Wonka...love it.

D.