It started at home - my little sisters just would not stop whining. Whether it was cookies or a new bicycle that they wanted, neither could just ask. They had to annoy everyone within earshot by bringing their voices up to a high-pitched wail. My parents (and I) thought that this was just a childhood phase, and that they would grow out of it.

Then came daytime talk shows. Hundreds of them, each one chock-full of people who only knew how to communicate by whining. "Why don't these people just talk to each other," I asked, as the couple on the screen whined about who contributed more to their live-in, don't-want-to-commit-yet-even-though-we've-been-dating-for-six-years relationship. Even the studio audience members were getting into the act that day. Some of them were getting up to the microphone to whine about their own relationship experiences, as if the couple on-stage wasn't enough.

This epidemic has spread. I'm not talking about people who spill their problems because they're under extreme stress - lots of people do that. I am referring to the extreme whiners - and everybody knows at least one. You know, that person who immediately begins to whine when they get sick, whether with pneumonia or the sniffles. Or that person who can't be part of a debate without starting most sentences in a high-pitched voice, with the word, "Bu ..." I work with people who grumble when they are told to do what is clearly stated in their job description. These are all extreme whiners.

Please! It's time to wake up! Why do an increasing number of people think they can only get attention by whining? To those who whine on talk shows, please do your whining at home, because I don't need to hear it. Learn some communication skills, too. To the extreme whiners, did someone tell you that life was going to be fair? Because that person was lying. Just go on with your life, and things will work out.

I can hear the responses at work now. "But I don't do that ..." ?