When the Covid problems began our (very) new neighbours offered to get shopping for us.

That was a kind offer but we felt just a bit embarrassed both being fully mobile back then.

Faith in human kindness, yes occasionally!

Edited By V8Eng on 02/06/2022 11:01:17

We were in the small town I mentioned above, and my wife went into a small store to by weed eater cord.

The woman said "We don't sell it".

The man behind her said "I have some in my truck, I will give it to you. It is STIHL".

The man gave her part of a roll of cord, and she came back to our car, and told me about the nice man.

She said "It has steel in it".

I looked at the used reel, and read the label outloud, "STIHL".

She said "That is what the man said; STEEL".

We still laugh about the steel weed eater cord.

.

Edited By PatJ on 02/06/2022 11:02:47

My experience of humanity is that people are far more likely to help you, give you assistance, for no reward than to rip you off or take advantage of you.

I could give many personal examples but won't.

JA

I am from the midsouth, US, and unfortunately my city is ranked #8th on the list of most dangerous cities in America. Our state recently passed laws to allow carry without any license, and it is because that is often the only way to survive, not because we love arms.

It is akin to the old West, where everyone carried, and they called them "peacemakers", which is indeed true.

I am often asked why I don't move away.

I am required to live within the city limits in order to get city work.

I do a lot of city work, and can't afford to lose that work.

At gas stations, when one fills up the tank, one needs to keep your back against the pump to see them coming.

If the gas station looks too rough, it is best to avoid it altogether.

There are many "no-go" zones in this city. The key is to know the zones and stay out of them.

The entire city is now a "watch your back at all times" zone.

Crazy I know.

I have to work where the money is, and there is a huge amount of money in this town.

That is a good comment on Fahrenheight 451. That was one of my favorite books when I was young, and I had completely forgotten about it.

You folks are lucky; at least the ones who live in safe areas.

I have a backup plan to move to a small rural town in another state, if/when I retire.

It is about 800 people, and I already have purchased a house and some land.

Edit:  I live in a "good" neighborhood, but even that is slipping.  It is very common to hear multiple gunfire a few blocks from my house, late at night (I often work late at night).

It use to bother me, but now it is more like hearing thunder or something.  I count the shots, and try to figure out the caliber of each piece in use, and the magazine sizes.  LOL, that is the engineer in me.

Often in excess of 30 rounds per battle (mainly gang wars).

.

Edited By PatJ on 03/06/2022 01:24:35

Madison Wisconsin is a great city. My daughter worked their for a while.

The big cities have gotten pretty rough here, basically due to lack of enforcement of existing gun and other laws.

Chicago has very strick gun laws, but seldom enforces them.

The US has always had a wild streak to it (I guess rebellious is a good description).

Some of the right to bear arms is probably based on the settlers moving across the land and facing hostile residents, and the general lack of law enforcement in the expanse of the west.

The population here is not as homogeneous as say in the UK, or Japan, and so it is not possible to say that gun control works in one country, and thus it will work in all countries.

Gun control here only seems to disarm the honest folks who never commit crimes. Gun control has no effect on those who do not obey the laws. Having your home broken into around here is somewhat common, and that is the main reason most folks support allowing firearms. Folks who break into your home around don't care about your life. They would gladly take you out for $10.00. There are some bad folks in this country, and when I say "bad", it is probably on a level that many in the world can't even imagine.

These days when I travel, I do a web search on any city that I have to pass through.

The general rule is never stop in a big city. Go through the big city and stop somewhere in a small town.

We have not really had any labor strikes here in recent memory. I recall a lot of labor strife in the 60's, 70's, etc.

I do remember that garbage strike. That is when MLK was killed in this city, and all hell broke out.

It was like a war zone for a long time, and everyone carried for a long time. Tanks rolling down residential streets. Seems almost peaceful now.

You folks seem to have it pretty good. Don't take that for granted.

.

Edited By PatJ on 03/06/2022 11:05:04

As we used to say when I worked in newspapers: Nobody rushes out to the airport to have a look every time a plane lands safely. The quiet achievers go unremarked.

And yes Bryson is good stuff. The situation in the US is unique. Sending your kids to school with bullet-proof backpacks so they can do "live shooter" drills is a strange kind of freedom the rest of us struggle to understand.

Not to get too far off topic, but one of the causes of major problems on this side of the pond is the fact that the government, in its infinite wisdom, decided to close all mental institutions a few years ago.

I forget exacly how many years ago this was; perhaps 20-30 years back.

In the old days, if someone was not safe or functional mentally, there was a place for them to live away from society.

Now, there is nowhere for these folks to go, and so they either end up on the street, in prison, or somewhere else, but the bottom line is that in the old days, they would be put somewhere and isolated from society.

To make matters even worse, they passed HIPAA laws, and so even if you take a family member to a doctor, the doctor cannot tell any other family members what the problem is, or discuss that person's health, due to these confidentiality laws. These laws basically guarantee that you will not be able to get a family member the help they need, and you are kept in the dark about the medical issues they may be experiencing.

Getting someone committed is bascially impossible these days. The law now basically says "we have to let people do something very bad before we will do anything about it". Sad but true. It should not be that way.

These are two of the root causes of the problems we have on this side of the pond.

Nobody ever wants to talk about root causes, but politicians instead substitute feel-good solutions that don't actually work.

.

During Covid, already having a nodding acquaintance with neighbours, relations got even better.

Asian neighbours from a couple of doors away, and their friends from across the road, brought us food from time to time.

In return I have been able to do a little work fixing their children's bikes, or inflating car tyres..

Next door, new tenants moved in. Our first contact was when there was a knock on the door and the young Romanian lady brought us some cake, as it was her 31st birthday.

Yesterday, a friend invited us to a Queen's Jubilee party in their cul de sac. There were Sikhs, Moslems, and Brits all sharing food and talking to each other.

Today, we have been given a tomato plant and a hanging basket by our neighbours.

Nice to think that out of seven houses, six all talk to each other and are friends.

Howard

On the contrary, I look up to the people from the UK.

I consider the UK folks to be the best model engineers in the world.

Beyond the hobby thing, every person from the UK I have ever met has been a genuinely nice person, and I have met quite a few here. I go out of my way to talk to them here just because they are lovely folks, and they have some interesting stories to tell.

And my daughter dated a fellow from the UK for a long while. He was a wonderful chap in every respect.

Folks over here generally insist on having the rights to determine their own destiny, and with those rights, there can definitely be problems. Differences in cultures. We are more individualistic, and not so much into compliance with authority for the greater good, mainly because "the greater good" in this country tends to turn out being "for the good of one political class", and not for the good of people in general at all.

I know a fellow in Scotland, and have chatted privately with him for a long time. I have met no finer person.

I guess the $100 dollar question would be "Would I give up what I have and how I live if I could live in complete safety in the UK?".

The answer is "No". I would love to visit though.

I have been told "Do not attempt to drive over there".

Wise advice I think.

A buddy of mine who lives in Canada bought a canal boat in the UK, and traveled all over. Boy does he have some interesting stories to tell.

One must live their life wherever they are, and make the best of it.

The grass may seem greener on the other side, but I think I will keep my grass.

.

Edited By PatJ on 04/06/2022 01:47:16