Hey Red State DUers!! A message for y'all!

[eridani]

86. Strange culture shock story

My husband and his sister, and our young nephew, visited their father living in Mississippi so that he could meet his grandson before he died. Since both dad and second wife were older and frail, they got in the habit of taking long walks on country roads when the old folks were napping. It was October, so the weather was mild--heat and humidity not such as to make walking unpleasant.

It was a strange experience for them to walk on roads with no shoulders and six foot deep ditches--necessary because clay soil doesn't absorb water very well. What utterly astonished them was that one day, a car stopped and offered them a ride to the homeless shelter in town!

They were caught between being utterly bewildered that people taking a walk would be assumed to be homeless or in some other kind of trouble, and being impressed with the kindness and care immediately offered to strangers.

Maybe nobody is in the habit of walking outdoors because it usually is too hot and humid for that? On 101 in Oregon, if someone is walking along the broad shoulders of the road, drivers will usually assume that they are walking along the road because they want to. No one is going to stop for you unless you are carrying a gas can or have your thumb out. Lots of touring bikes are out during the (relatively) dry season also.