Being a soldier, and thus spending most of my free time socializing with other soldiers and -- more pertinently -- riding in their vehicles, I've had more than my fair share of chances to meet the local constabulary. There's a reason auto insurance companies don't give military discounts, if you follow me. Well, during my year-and-some-change in California, I witnessed several of my friends get pulled over, and was annoyed and really rather disappointed each time by the condescending and disrespectful attitude displayed by the California policemen. Even one bad experience, could make a bad impression, of course, but this was a consistent pattern witnessed over probably four or five encounters. Thanks be to Texas, however, for again renewing my faith in Americans generally, and policemen specifically. Last night I was pulled over and given a warning for speeding, and was really impressed by the officer's courtesy and professionalism, as I was a few weeks ago when a friend was was similarly pulled over. These little interactions really do color one's impression of a place, and Texas has been doing very well in my book. I still wouldn't ever want to live here long-term, but I'll have fond memories of this time, certainly.
1 comment:
Hi Evan,
I haven't visited your blog for a while (life has been uncooperative) but your sis's announcement about your making Airborne (congratulations!) prompted me to stop by. And then I saw this little post about Texas and it brought back more memories of home.
Interestingly enough, when we moved to Illinois (14 years ago) my mom would sometimes make comments about how people up here are just not as friendly as they are down south. But I can't say that I have ever noticed such a big difference. Yes, Chicago is much faster paced--but it never struck me as any less friendly (I'm speaking of my suburban existence--downtown Chicago is a different animal altogether).
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