I had an odd 'happening' the time before last, maybe February, when I had to do my medicine refills at the pharmacy near my (this) residence. I had changed from the pharmacy near the hospital, which is over in Tachikawa City, to a pharmacy closer to me here.

So I'm sitting in the back, where I like to be, and there's this kids' little corner thing and I see a mom and her kid come in and go there and I thought I saw this little stool/seat thing flex just a tad too much when mom sat on it.

So my medicine refills take a long time and that mom and her child were gone and I took a look at that stool and found that one leg had a loose screw. I asked the staff if they had a screw driver and they finally came up with one that was way the wrong size, so I took off to my place and got the right size, went back, and tightened up that screw and had a lengthy chat with the manager there about what I was doing; it was a strange happening for all staff and customers to see some weird old foreigner playing around with those little stool things.

But then it hit me later that day that maybe that style kids' corner was in all that company's stores and I sent an email off to somebody in that company and - - - well, I guess it sort of surprised more than a few people. And I still have some worries about what I had found. For one thing, I wonder how many managers of those stores will consistently check that bit of trouble with that screw on any of those stools.

But it once again has me thinking of safety awareness amongst average folks when they are out-and-about and in areas where they don't have any direct connection with a given facility or the management of such a facility.

How does a local government raise the level of safety awareness with those they are governing? How do you get people to realize it is okay to "do something" when they think they see something odd?

It is harder, I think, in Japan, because the Japanese are really good at minding their own business and not sticking their nose too far into things they are not directly responsible for. I don't think I am stereotyping with that observation. I hope not.

Do any of you folks think 'safety awareness' is at a higher level in your nation's culture; like the U.S., or Canada, or the UK, and so on?

You reckon I'm just a super weirdo and most folks wouldn't have done that bit at that pharmacy?

It's true that I have had a professional slot as a safety officer in a few professional type situations. I did receive some special safety awareness (aviation) classes way-way back in time. BUT isn't safety awareness supposed to be a kind of good thing for all folks? I mean, one doesn't need formal training to just use good situational awareness and common sense, right?

You reckon a person like me can go too far with this thinking? That pharmacy 'happening' wasn't/isn't the first time I've seen safety trouble and got in touch with some entity/person who could be responsible.

Frankly, it sort of bothers me that maybe I am a tad too weird on stuff like this. And sorry about all the questions above.

In fact, I almost got thrown out of the hospital by the director because of a safety issue he wouldn't properly address. They even had my wife come in, and at a rush to get me to shut up. And that worked. I think that safety problem on the many upper floors in the wards is still a problem. One could rightfully state I failed on that one. Still in a failure mode, is that one.