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#161
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Howard Berkowitz wrote:
snippage Sometimes it's not superiority as much as familiarity. When I had to drive for about 10 days in England, the staff at the Avis car return lot at Heathrow were very nice. I don't know if they were just saving my feeling or being accurate, but they reassured me that they were used to seeing Americans passionately kissing the pavement, once they were aware they did not have to drive on what felt like the wrong side, often in narrow lanes. And roundabouts... And roundabouts... And roundabouts... When my DH was sent by his (now former) employer to Manchester, England, he got a rental car - people at the rental place asked him if he wanted a "people mover". His reply was "huh-wha???". They went back and forth over it a few minutes, then come to figure out that what they were calling a "people mover" over there, we call a "mini-van" over here in the US. Tall like a regular va, but a bit smaller - like a car. Also, petrol (gas to us USAn's) computed to about $9US per gallon (and we b!tch when it gets to $2US)....ouch - no wonder Land Rovers & other SUV's are few & far between over there! --? The ONE and ONLY lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy former-blonde in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too)© email me at nalee1964 (at) insightbb (dot) com http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep |
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#163
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#164
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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1 On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 23:07:44 GMT, "Yoj" wrote: "Adrian" wrote in message ... Howard Berkowitz wrote: OTOH, most cats probably like herring. I'm glad you didn't say *all* cats. ;-) -- Adrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera) A house is not a home, without a cat. Only a non-catperson would say *all* cats like or dislike anything. ;-) I bought Cinders a small can of salmon-based cat food as a Christmas treat. When I opened the can, it smelled pretty good to me (although I didn't go so far as to taste it). Cinders smelled it a couple of times, but declined to eat any. Apparently, only kibble counts as food, as far as she is concerned. I ended up having to throw the food away. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGPfreeware 7.0.3 for non-commercial use http://www.pgp.com iQA/AwUBQdN9gDMYPge5L34aEQJdGgCeOG6nof1pcF7MdTMR9/68/jtuiIEAnRVW UrKEHFo/GT0o65d/XOtP1jWn =3Hdu -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- John F. Eldredge -- PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu "Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria |
#165
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"Magic Mood Jeep©" wrote in message
news:WQJAd.282060$V41.40785@attbi_s52... Howard Berkowitz wrote: snippage Sometimes it's not superiority as much as familiarity. When I had to drive for about 10 days in England, the staff at the Avis car return lot at Heathrow were very nice. I don't know if they were just saving my feeling or being accurate, but they reassured me that they were used to seeing Americans passionately kissing the pavement, once they were aware they did not have to drive on what felt like the wrong side, often in narrow lanes. And roundabouts... And roundabouts... And roundabouts... When my DH was sent by his (now former) employer to Manchester, England, he got a rental car - people at the rental place asked him if he wanted a "people mover". His reply was "huh-wha???". They went back and forth over it a few minutes, then come to figure out that what they were calling a "people mover" over there, we call a "mini-van" over here in the US. Tall like a regular va, but a bit smaller - like a car. Also, petrol (gas to us USAn's) computed to about $9US per gallon (and we b!tch when it gets to $2US)....ouch - no wonder Land Rovers & other SUV's are few & far between over there! Yes, from what I've heard, we pay less for petrol (or gas) than just about anybody in any other country. Joy |
#166
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"Yowie" wrote in message
... "Yoj" wrote in message ... "EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote in message ... Howard Berkowitz wrote: Sometimes it's not superiority as much as familiarity. When I had to drive for about 10 days in England, the staff at the Avis car return lot at Heathrow were very nice. I don't know if they were just saving my feeling or being accurate, but they reassured me that they were used to seeing Americans passionately kissing the pavement, once they were aware they did not have to drive on what felt like the wrong side, often in narrow lanes. And roundabouts... And roundabouts... And roundabouts... Oh well, THOSE come in for their share of "abuse" from UK posters to my travel group, too! Myself, I would never drive ANYWHERE in Europe, even though the rest of them drive on the right side of the road. I'm timid about driving a rental car in other places (even here in the U.S., where I know the traffic laws and have no language difficulty). I have driven a rental car in other states, but I was very relieved when they gave me a Toyota (which is what I drive). Driving a strange car is difficult. I can get lost within 30 miles of my own home. When I first talked about going to Australia, a woman on one of my newsgroups offered to lend me a car while I was there. I thought about it for about 5 seconds. I thought about trying to find my way around in a strange country, driving a strange car with the steering wheel on the wrong side, and driving on the wrong side of the road. I said no thank you. ;-) I have an Aussie friend who is braver than I am, though. When she visited the U.S., she rented a car and drove around by herself for four weeks, visiting several states in the process. It sbad enough when I went to Queensland because of work and rented a car there. Even though everythign else is exactly the same, driving wise, as it is down here where I live, the car I rented had the indicator stick on the left, and the wiper stick on the right (rather than the other way around, which is the usual way in Australia). I had to drive that car all the way through Brisbane, and although the traffic wasn't half as bad as it was in Sydney, I nearly caused a few accidents by putting my wipers on to turn the corner rather and hten getting all bumfuzzled and flustered. It was just as bad getting back into my car after a week and making the very same errors again, as I had gotten used to the controls on the rental car! Yowie I can imagine! It's really hard driving a car you aren't used to. The last time I visited my mother, my sister let me drive her car. Actually, it's a Toyota mini-van. The first time I parked it, I couldn't find the parking brake. Luckily we were meeting some people at a restaurant, and one of them helped me find it. Instead of being in the center of the front seat, it was by the door! Joy |
#167
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John F. Eldredge wrote:
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 23:07:44 GMT, "Yoj" wrote: "Adrian" wrote in message ... Howard Berkowitz wrote: OTOH, most cats probably like herring. I'm glad you didn't say *all* cats. ;-) -- Adrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera) A house is not a home, without a cat. Only a non-catperson would say *all* cats like or dislike anything. ;-) I bought Cinders a small can of salmon-based cat food as a Christmas treat. When I opened the can, it smelled pretty good to me (although I didn't go so far as to taste it). Cinders smelled it a couple of times, but declined to eat any. Apparently, only kibble counts as food, as far as she is concerned. I ended up having to throw the food away. When I was first adopted by Persia and took her to the vet, he gave me worm pills just in case she had some. He suggested I tuck them into a bit of water packed tuna. Turned out Persia does *not* like tuna at all. But she didn't have worms, either! Jill |
#168
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Christina Websell wrote:
"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote in message ... To save this wonderful group from degenerating into flames, I could e-mail you (or anyone else) examples if when I come across them (if I remember) explaining why they are irksome. They're irksome to a lot of Americans, too, Yowie - which is why I jump into discussions like this! Sure, in many ways the U.S. is a good place to live - but I can point out a lot of ways in which other places are, too. (I, for one, would move to Europe tomorrow if there were any way I could live on my unaugmented "retirement" income in anyplace I'd WANT to live.) Where would you choose to live in Europe if you could, and why? Just curious. Tweed Liecester? ;-) -- Adrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera) A house is not a home, without a cat. |
#169
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On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 18:50:24 GMT, "Yoj"
wrote: The whole opposition to gay marriage is hypocritical at best. I feel like throwing up when someone says that would cheapen marriage. Amen, Joy!! I agree it's hypocritical if not downright vicious. Here they're saying that gay marriage would *destroy* traditional marriage. Hooey!!! With the high divorce rate, unwed "relationships", domestic violence, child abuse, and rampant adultery going on, it seems to me the "straights" are doing a good job of it on their own!! Jeanne |
#170
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(snip)
So, while the USA has a lot going for it, it also has some problems in its attitude. I do not think people should seriously criticise the USA, but I do also think that Americans should accept mild criticism in the same way as others do, and realise that other countries have done and still do a lot for everyone else. As a loyal AND self-critical American, I'd just like to mention here that the thing that irritates me most is the constant characterization of the USA or Americans in broad, sweeping terms. I know it must be difficult for a lot of people around the world to understand how huge the US is, but there are just too many of us, and too many different kinds of us, to safely generalize about us. For every true thing you can say about us, it is safe to assume the opposite also holds true. Theresa Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com |
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