Well, 'they' say that traveling is broadening and 'they' are so-o-o right! Why are airplane seat belts always adjusted to fit a small child? After hours of sitting here and standing there and sitting here, I've noticed that many passengers have square behinds and no way can they buckle up without first giving themselves added length to their restraints! (Providing, of course, they can slip out the end of the seat belt that the seat mate is sitting on.)
On-board entertainment is usually provided gratis by the child behind you who kicks the back of your seat for a few hours or the passenger in front who reclines his seat so that your lap tray is jammed into your navel. I suggest that airlines provide portable DVD players with an assortment of age-related DVDs to keep all passengers from going nuts.
My stars! I've never seen so many cars, semi's, vans, pickups, or SUV's in my life! And the highways have four lanes going each direction! I'm sure those roads must look like a tangle of spaghetti from above. Everybody seems to know where they're going, though, because the drivers dart in and out at break-neck speed.
My little home town is just now adjusting to having two lanes each way on the main expressway through town. (Speed limit - 35mph). And the folks where I live are so conservative that we don't have any use for left turn lanes. Where I visited, there were TWO left turn lanes lots of places. People there sure are liberal.
I'm a meat-and-potatoes person and living dangerously means that I buy sour cream w/chives and a bag of potato chips to offer my guests. Those folks where I visited ate strange things. Something with an unpronounceable name that was the color you find in the diaper of a sick infant! Actually, if you closed your eyes, it was mighty tasty on that crispy triangle that tasted like corn.
Salt and pepper suit me to a "T." But folks there use a little skinny bottle of red liquid dynamite to spice up food at the table. I may buy some Nexxium stock because those folks surely must have burned-out throats. And did you ever hear of catfish raised on a farm? I figure that those farmers must wear scuba outfits at harvest time.
I've never seen so many 6' wooden, dog-eared privacy fences in my life! Without exception, every house had one out back! Suppose all the people are secretly practicing nudists who have something to hide? And why would people with enough money to build a mansion squeeze their homes onto such small lots that there'd be no room to swing a cat between buildings? Beats me.
In defense of the folks who live there, though, I must admit that they are a friendly bunch. Smiles from strangers, a "Hi, y'all" from strangers, courtesy abounding. I do believe that they should apply for admission to the United Nations.
Oh, the country I visited? Republic of Texas, y'all!!!!