It's not every day a New Yorker gets to visit his grandparents in the panhandle of Texas. I haven't seen them in nearly two years - since I started college. A couple of observations today; Newark airport has one of the smoothest security screening systems I've ever experienced. Maybe it's because I got to the airport at 4:30am - an ungodly time if there ever was one - but I was at the gate by 5am with no trouble from the TSA. I had only one carry-on, and travelled by myself, which may have contributed to the ease of boarding. If I may generalize, however, It seems that flying has gotten much easier recently. Fingers crossed that my flight to Croatia will go similarly.
I guess the big take-home message is that things get easier the more you do them. I could make my way back here whenever I needed to, whether or not my grandparents were there to greet me at the airport. The same ought to apply to driving, which will be important as I'm trying to get my license this semester.
(/insert picture of adorable puppies/)
Those puppies are part of my grandparents' livelihood, and they sell for $100 each as sheepdogs, goard dogs, pets - you name it. Things are simpler out here, and the people are much more spread out; 2,000 folks live in an area bigger than the New York Metropolitan area, and everyone's job is tied to the land in one form or another. The town doctor is mormon, and has seven children, the one movie theater in town dates back to the 1930's "nickelodeon" era, and everyone goes to church on Sunday. Did I mention this is a prohibition-era town? Yes indeed, you cannot buy or sell liquor in collingsworth county; it's against the law. While you'd think this reduced the number of alcohol-related crimes & deaths, the opposite is true; this county has one of the highest drunk-driving fatalities in the state every year. Must be something to do with the fact that you have to drive ~50 miles to the nearest gas station that sells beer.
For the next few days i'm going to be working the land: building fences, splitting wood, feeding chickens and milking goats. I'm not sure what life lessons I'll learn here, but one thing is for sure - I intend to be a doctor, not a farmer. If I want to make that a reality, I need all A's next semester.
Ciao for now.
I guess the big take-home message is that things get easier the more you do them. I could make my way back here whenever I needed to, whether or not my grandparents were there to greet me at the airport. The same ought to apply to driving, which will be important as I'm trying to get my license this semester.
(/insert picture of adorable puppies/)
Those puppies are part of my grandparents' livelihood, and they sell for $100 each as sheepdogs, goard dogs, pets - you name it. Things are simpler out here, and the people are much more spread out; 2,000 folks live in an area bigger than the New York Metropolitan area, and everyone's job is tied to the land in one form or another. The town doctor is mormon, and has seven children, the one movie theater in town dates back to the 1930's "nickelodeon" era, and everyone goes to church on Sunday. Did I mention this is a prohibition-era town? Yes indeed, you cannot buy or sell liquor in collingsworth county; it's against the law. While you'd think this reduced the number of alcohol-related crimes & deaths, the opposite is true; this county has one of the highest drunk-driving fatalities in the state every year. Must be something to do with the fact that you have to drive ~50 miles to the nearest gas station that sells beer.
For the next few days i'm going to be working the land: building fences, splitting wood, feeding chickens and milking goats. I'm not sure what life lessons I'll learn here, but one thing is for sure - I intend to be a doctor, not a farmer. If I want to make that a reality, I need all A's next semester.
Ciao for now.
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