tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post6847872389846061134..comments2024-03-13T09:47:40.487+00:00Comments on Cockpit Conversation: Texas In My Rear View MirrorAviatrixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13634111275860140084noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-77239232471512571722009-02-21T19:27:00.000+00:002009-02-21T19:27:00.000+00:00As others have pointed out, we Americans may be ov...As others have pointed out, we Americans may be overly sensitive to comments made by our Northern neighbors if those comments can be construed as criticisms. I'll try to be more aware of that henceforth.<BR/>But Callsign Echo said, <BR/>"At worst, you seem to view Americans with tolerant humor...", and I have to edify you with this fact:<BR/>My wife and son go to Vancouver, B.C. on business two or three times a year. More and more they are noticing a decidedly "Anti-American" attitude there, (obviously stronger in some areas than others).<BR/><BR/>I'll wager Texans are gracious hosts, even to Canadians viewing them with a critical eye. <BR/>My family's experience in Vancouver has become uncomfortable, and they would no longer go to B.C. were it not a business requirement.<BR/>(I've never been, and won't go until I'm sure I'm welcome.)Greybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11919862790973521778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-66433801870209205262009-02-20T23:56:00.000+00:002009-02-20T23:56:00.000+00:00Y'all come back now ya hear!!!!Y'all come back now ya hear!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-80246002725989119202009-02-20T20:35:00.000+00:002009-02-20T20:35:00.000+00:00In one of your posts, you mentioned a pedestrian c...In one of your posts, you mentioned a pedestrian crosswalk. Beyond that, was the area you were in "pedestrian friendly"? It's always a shame when a locale makes the effort to promote a pedestrian friendly environment and nobody is taking advantage of it.<BR/><BR/>However (as I'm fond of pointing out), very little of the US is built around pedestrians. Sometimes this is just poor planning, but most often it's a simple matter of suburbia being too spread out to reasonably accommodate peds, so things like sidewalks would be a waste of resource.<BR/><BR/>I wouldn't be surprised if there's nobody on foot in an area not built for pedestrians. It can be dangerous (and I'm not necessarily referring to violence) to walk along the side of a road where peds aren't expected.dpiercehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03397601206317363858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-67154879449794526602009-02-20T18:50:00.000+00:002009-02-20T18:50:00.000+00:00Next time you're in Houston and feel like walking ...Next time you're in Houston and feel like walking go downtown.<BR/><BR/>People who live and work in downtown Houston (like those in my own downtown Austin) walk a lot.<BR/><BR/>Houston has a nice light rail system. Houston even has a really super nice set of underground walkways, that connect the big skyscrappers, thus saving our Canadian visitors from melting in the summer sun ;).<BR/><BR/>Here's a picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kt/62786867/Jim Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18228368552972082442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-33137894709380771892009-02-20T18:14:00.000+00:002009-02-20T18:14:00.000+00:00Ah, thank you both for confirming success at what ...Ah, thank you both for confirming success at what I am trying to do. I'm already back in Texas after the break and there are lots more observations coming up!Aviatrixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13634111275860140084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-55356690980495508732009-02-20T16:59:00.000+00:002009-02-20T16:59:00.000+00:00+1 what Jim said.I love hearing your perspective o...+1 what Jim said.<BR/><BR/>I love hearing your perspective on the culture here. It is startling but interesting, like seeing yourself on video for the first time. "Is that really what I look like...?"<BR/><BR/>Those who take offense are only the oversensitive, and trolls looking for any excuse to fight.<BR/><BR/>At worst, you seem to view Americans with tolerant humor, at best, you give us reality check: there are many different ways of doing things, and living, and thinking, and especially...traveling.Callsign Echohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07394192594808060440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10000144.post-91147668997899110772009-02-20T12:26:00.000+00:002009-02-20T12:26:00.000+00:00One of the reasons I love travel is because the pe...One of the reasons I love travel is because the people, the food, the culture, the geography and a whole lot else are different there than they are here.<BR/><BR/>"Whoever discovered water, it wasn't a fish."<BR/><BR/>I found your observations throughout the TX series to be observations of different, and of course it is compounded by how America is different than Canada.<BR/><BR/>Taxes, health care, car culture, diet, geography, politeness, gun culture, politics, religous fervour, spelling, signage, driving patterns, pronunciation, values around self-sufficiency, .... some of the thousands of things that are not right, or wrong, - they are just different.<BR/><BR/>And to a Texan in Texas, most of these cultural tags are as normal as breathing air. To someone from sufficienty far away, Texans (or anyone else) are so unique they may as well have green skin, three feet and talk in binary. And that makes it observable.<BR/><BR/>What I find interesting is that you don't say "they do something wrong" in your blog - you do describe something with the obvious conclusion of "that's different", and many of the commentators on your blog leap to the conclusion that you have said "that's wrong" and get all defensive (or go on the attack).Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11726267862761677407noreply@blogger.com