Okay, while Laura has posted several times about things that surprised her northern sensibilities with phrases such as ‘we’re not in Kansas anymore;’ me, being the more restrained person, or so I like to think, have not so self-indulged.
Please allow me a moment’s rant. I apologize in advance and perhaps our ongoing travels will cure me of any future such reactive needs.
Scene: Polk County DMV
Small office, two people manning the office. TV behind counter, in full view of the public, on in the background, all day long. Channel? Fox News – in a government office!
Same office, calendar on the wall – picture on the calendar – Jesus Christ (again, this is a government office!)
Scene: Campground side of the road, route 98, Florida. (and then same scene repeated many, many times, in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas)
We are having a picnic lunch. Out of the woods, two young men, in prison jumpsuits circa ‘O Brother Where Art Thou’ (1930s) – one piece, cotton, black and white horizontal stripes. (green, orange, blue, and red some of the other colors of choice in other states) come towards the van to empty trash – human servants, public embarrassment, have we progressed no further than this?
Scene: Any store, restaurant, or corner, East Texas
First seen in a McDonalds – young man, about 20, actually wearing cowboy boots and cowboy hat as casual, regular clothing – and no, he was not fresh from the field. Then in a Walmart, then a bank, then most places – many people actually wear cowboy boots and hats as regular clothing – it’s not just what is shown on TV. Can they really be that comfortable?????
Scene: Virtually all stores, bars, restaurants, west of Tallahassee, Fl
Fox News is the only channel that is on as the default channel and source of all truth (at least prior to this part of the country, it was only the predominant, not only channel!)
Scene: Any small 2 or 4 lane road, in East Texas
(work with me for a minute on this one, as it may seem the faster the better) The speed limit is 70 and people do 75+. Think RI or MA routes 102, 138, 123, 118 etc. for comparison. And people drive this fast on all roads. Ride your bike on a road? Walk? Run? Good luck, and then there is the target practice aspect for out of place northerners that might have the strange idea to walk, run, or bike down a road
Scene: McDonalds(or any other restaurant, though it seems the most odd in a McDonalds)
Couple, usually older couple, order food, sit down, lean into each other, clasp hands, and pray before eating.
Due to political expediency, self-preservation, and deniability, this rant does not include other things such as gun shows and gun show signs, right-wing periodicals, political signs, prayer meetings in restaurants, other instances of excessive religion in the public sphere, and anything else we may need to recant.
Did I mention that Laura really wrote this?
Wow. Ranting about a couple praying before eating? About people wearing boots and hats? How do you spell freedom of choice?
ReplyDeleteYou're in Texas. I've been in Texas. I have friends in Texas, and yes, they have more conservative political views than I, they actually wear cowboy boots (shocker! So do I, sometimes).
Oh, and my friend's father, a lifelong Texan, believed all of us from up in the Northeast were a bunch of commie liberals. Until we sat down together and found what we had in common.