10 grievances we're airing this Festivus
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Today is Festivus, a holiday familiar to "Seinfeld" fans when people air their grievances.
How it works: The celebration was popularized by the late comedian Jerry Stiller in 1997 during his run as sitcom icon Frank Costanza. Festivus celebrations feature a plain aluminum pole instead of a decorated Christmas tree.
- Traditions include the "feats of strength" in which the head of household wrestles someone; a no frills Festivus dinner of meatloaf and peas; and calling run-of-the-mill occurrences "Festivus miracles."
- But it begins with the aforementioned "airing of grievances" in which family members tell each other what grinds their gears over dinner.
Pro tip: Before you let it rip, it helps to yell, "I've got a lot of problems with you people!"
Zoom in: The Axios Indianapolis team has a few.
⛄ People who don't shovel their sidewalks. If you're elderly or injured or otherwise unable, you get a pass. But the rest of you? Come on. It's the neighborly thing to do.
- Related: People who don't pick up their dog's poop, because nothing is worse than stepping on a "surprise" hidden in a few inches of snow.
🚧 Road construction. This is perpetual, but living through the Michigan-New York conversion construction only for it to be immediately followed by Blue Line construction on Washington is just cruel to east side residents.
- And don't get us started on I-465 work that we're convinced will never be finished.
👖 Fashion trends. Lindsey and Arika finally caved and bought wide-legged jeans, so in a few months we'll probably read all about how skinny jeans are back. The whiplash is exhausting.
☕ $8 lattes. These should be $5. Flat. And non-dairy milk shouldn't be an extra charge!
😴 8pm or later kick-off times for football games. Staying up late watching games is a bummer. But that 4pm Rose Bowl kick off? Yes, please. More of that.
🛑 People who don't stop or at least slow down at trail crossings. 'Nuff said.
🚗 Drivers who take a million years and block an entire travel lane to parallel park on busy streets downtown during rush hour. Circle the block and try again.
🏈 Bandwagon hoppers. And with so many Indiana sports teams doing the seemingly impossible over the past few years, there is a LOT of hopping going on.
❄️ The weather. Just in general. It's minus 20 on Monday. Then it's 65 and sunny on Tuesday. We know, life in the Midwest. But can we get just a little consistency?
📺 TV streaming platforms, which originally cut the costs associated with cable, now cost way more than cable ever did if you want to enjoy more than one.
📬 Your turn: What grievances do you want to air this Festivus? Get the aluminum pole out of the crawlspace and email your beefs to us at [email protected]!