Nobody asked me, but here’s a list of things I think are underrated or overrated.

Farmer’s markets are underrated.

Watermelon is overrated and bananas are underrated.

Our local fresh strawberries cannot possibly be overrated.

Tacos are overrated – just kidding.

Even after all we’ve been through during the enduring COVID-19 pandemic, frontline workers, from grocery cashiers, food service and agricultural workers to janitors, truck drivers and all healthcare employees, are underrated.

Frontline teachers are especially underrated and CEOs are especially overrated.

Doctors tend to be correctly rated, but nurses and physician assistants are definitely underrated.

Novacaine cannot be overrated if you are sitting in a dentist’s chair getting a filling.

Even if you try to fully appreciate it, good health is underrated until you fall ill or are injured.

Tom Hanks’ niceness is overrated – it simply has to be!

The magic of being a grandparent is overrated – until you become one.

The value of having music and art education in our schools is underrated.

The value of having kids in our schools, as opposed to attending classes remotely, cannot be overrated.

Individual universities are often overrated, but earning a college degree remains underrated.

Trade school degrees are greatly underrated.

Having a good mechanic, plumber or repairman/woman is underrated.

The dangers firefighters face are underrated by most of us.

All superheroes other than Superman, Batman and single parents are overrated.

A simple lunch or happy hour with another person, in person, is no longer underrated as of 2020.

Ditto for visiting a parent or grandparent in a senior living facility.

Expensive stylish shoes are overrated and comfortable shoes are underrated.

Before one sees the Grand Canyon in person it cannot help but be overrated; standing on its rim, however, it is impossible to underrate its awe-inspiring grandeur and breathtaking beauty.

Yosemite Valley is probably underrated.

The Channel Islands are definitely underrated.

Barefooted walks on the beach are highly rated, but still underrated.

Pizza is underrated, except for Hawaiian-style which is grossly overrated.

A short commute to work – especially from the bedroom to the kitchen table or extra bedroom/office – is no longer underrated.

Local microbreweries and small wineries are underrated.

Local charities that humbly do tremendous work are underrated.

Independent bookstores are underrated, as are public libraries and Little Free Libraries, too.

Ebooks are overrated by people who prefer printed ones, and vice-versa.

I thought Tolstoy was overrated, at the least overly longwinded, until I recently read some of his short stories – he merits his lofty rating.

At the risk of jinxing myself and getting a flat on the freeway, today’s car tires are underrated.

Common sense is underrated.

Cats are overrated to dog people, and vice-versa – but both are wrong because no beloved pet can be overrated.

Teenagers overrate the calamity of having a few pimples.

Older people overrate the calamity of having a few gray hairs.

The “good ol’ days” are overrated and today’s youth are too often underrated by those who were youths back in the “good ol’ days.”

A friendly smile is underrated by the person who is sharing it.

The medical miracle of all vaccines is underrated.

A true friendship cannot be overrated.

Handwritten letters and cards sent in the mail cannot be overrated.

Butterflies and birds are underrated, as are flowers and trees, and seas and sunsets. Let’s just say all of Nature is underrated.

These opinions are probably overrated to everyone except me.

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Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @woodywoodburn. His SIGNED books are available at www.WoodyWoodburn.com.

Personalized Signed copies of WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece” and  “Strawberries in Wintertime: Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter” are available at WoodyWoodburn.com