Home In The USA . Scattered Thoughts on Travel.

We're all home safe, Linda Lou, Captain Fatbob the Pug and me. I love taking driving trips but whenever I get home I threaten to never look at the world through a windshield again.

I'm struck, as usual, by the sheer size of the USA. The trip home was over 1300 miles and we only went through a slice of Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas and a little piece of Texas. I'm struck, too, by the people. In small towns and big cities as well as stops in the country it was difficult to find someone unfriendly. Perhaps it was Captain Fatbob breaking the ice but we hardly ran into an unfriendly person. People were especially generous with their time, we'd ask directions or just ask folks what there was to see wherever we were. The local people, wherever we went, are proud of where they live and want to tell us about it. Ordinary Americans aren't afraid to talk to strangers.

We rode the bus back from downtown DC, instead of the Metro train, at one point we were the only white folks on the bus, me all decked out in my Texas wild west clothes and, even the part of the trip through the projects, there was not one display of hostility. I've heard Washington described as a city with "Northern Charm and Southern Efficiency". I haven't traveled much in the north but if folks up there act like the folks in DC it will be a pleasure once I do.

While I'm thinking about just how big the country is I might mention the odd attitude of the snobby Euroweenies (all Europeans aren't snobby nor weenies) and their frequent blather about how few Americans have passports. It's because we don't need 'em to travel long distances. I notice how small the countries in Europe are, except Russia. We could hide all of France in Texas and not notice much except for odd smells. There would be a slight increase of rudeness, I suppose, until we shot a bunch of 'em and kicked a bunch more in the butt.

I'll add some more, later. I've got to talk about Manassas and something about Tennessee. That Davy Crocket song just might be true, Tennessee is the greenest state in the land of the free.