First reactions after re-entry into Philadelphia (Dad)



Sunday

 1. It's cold in Philadelphia like the Aegean coast has never been (we're snowed in)

2. We have so very much in this country and we or at least I need to remember to be thankful everyday.





Monday

 3. No minarets and no azan, the Islamic call to worship which are conspicuous by their absence

4. The US should come out in support of democracy in the Middle East (e.g. Egypt) and stop supporting authoritarian bad guys. That day is past and our reputation abroad severely tarnished.

5.  I'm newly suspicious of grocery store employees who say "hello" and wish me a "nice day" (what exactly are they after?)

6.  Our 10 year old clunker SUV is a sleek machine that could drive in the fast lane in Turkey (we've been driving a 1300 cc Fiat)

7.  People generally seem either much slimmer or much heavier and in this land of extremes I saw at least one middle-aged man who thought it made sense to wear his hair in a mohawk

8.  The parking spaces in the US are huge (after Turkey I could park with my eyes closed)

9.  Does all the food need to have some sort of sauce on it?

10.  Cheesesteaks are still pretty tasty

11. Returning an item here takes about 15 seconds, requires no rubber stamps, no invoice in triplicate and no zeroing out of the entire transaction 

12. I've been crammed into Turkish elevators and buses so crowded that people are touching on all sides but in six months I've had no physical contact as rude or jarring as the "thump" on the shoulder from the US Airways flight attendant who asked if I wanted a sandwich (back off dude!)

13. Tell me again why we need 6 varieties of onions and ten flavors of bagels?

It's great to be back but I can feel my heart rate picking up as I re-enter the machine that is America.