THANK YOU FOR NOT-

Hi, I'm Bo Lumpkin and I've been thinkin'.
I don't exactly recall where I was the other day when I saw it but I saw a sign that really got me to thinkin'. I am sure you have seen a sign like it before too. All it said was, "THANK YOU FOR NOT SMOKING."
Well I don't smoke (anymore) but it sure started me to thinkin'. I can remember when no matter where you went someone was smokin'. Now you don't hardly see anybody smokin' in public anymore. I am aware that they have outlawed smokin' in a lot of public places and that is probably the reason you don't see much of it, but if you think about it, even before it became a felony to light up in public if there was a sign that said, "THANK YOU FOR NOT SMOKING", most folks didn't smoke there.
I was in the doctor's office the other day and there was another sign, It said, TURN OFF ALL CELL PHONES (another addictive behavior). I was thinkin' it would be a lot nicer if they used the same tactics and said, "Thank You For Turning Off Your Cell Phone". I am kind of confused on what I think about that. On the positive side, you feel kind of obligated to do something that somebody has already thanked you for. On the other side, and I ain't so sure this is negative, it could start a whole new movement. They might start making cell phones illegal on hospital grounds and in public buildings. There might be no cell phone sections in restaurants. They might even make it illegal to use a cell phone in a restaurant unless they also have a bar(like they do with smokin').
Actually that ain't the direction I intended to wander off too but it is a good point. The thing I really been thinkin' about is maybe we ought to try the same tactics to get people to change other bad habits.
When we go into a Mexican Restaurant before we are seated we could say, "Thank you for not playing your music so loud that we can't talk." Or even we could say, "Thank you for sending us a waiter/waitress (I can't get used to calling them servers) that can speak enough English to take our order."
It might even work in a non-comercial situation. The next time you see someone at work or anywhere who is always complaining just say, "Thank you for being such a positive person."
I might get out my old Button Machine and start making buttons again. I could make one that says, "Thank You For Not Cussin'" and another that says, "Thank You For Smilin'".
I could probably go on and on about this (and probably will at some later time) but I would like to give ya'll a chance to Thank Folks for not doin' somethin, or for doin' somethin'. Ya'll know you can come up with some thank yous for everyone so be sure and leave 'em on the comments. Don't forget to read the comments, some of them are better than some of the articles.
I'm Bo Lumpkin and I've been thinkin'. Whatchall been thinkin. You can tell me about it in a comment or send me an email to bo@bolumpkin.com or bo lumpkin@gmail.com.