BS: The USofA

Subject: BS: The USofA
From: Raptor
Date: 12 Aug 09 - 10:48 AM

After driving through the states for a kayaking trip to Maine a few observations about my experiences:

People were a lot more friendly that I remembered

New England is full of beautiful towns with old fashioned down towns that are spectacular

I didn't see any litter on the side of any of the roads or hiways we traveled through

Each town that we passed on the pikes had a massive factory made of red brick with a huge smokestack usually by a river most seemed shut down

NY the place we spent the most in tolls seemed to spend the least on repairs for roads

No graffiti anywhere I'd seen

In Acadia national park no trees were carved with initials of people that were in love or "were here"

I have a new love for your beautiful country

The only other experience I've had in the last 20 years was driving through Dirty downtown Buffalo for the bills games each year.

Raptor

Subject: RE: BS: The USofA
From: MMario
Date: 12 Aug 09 - 10:53 AM

NY the place we spent the most in tolls seemed to spend the least on repairs for roads

Oh no, they spend a great deal of both time and money on road repairs. they just accomplish extremly little.

Subject: RE: BS: The USofA
From: olddude
Date: 12 Aug 09 - 11:03 AM

raptor
we in buffalo resemble that remark LOL .. and it is still just as dirty and the Bills are just as bad a team ... good thing i am a steeler fan. As for the roads, well here in western NY I swear you can see bumpers of cars sticking out of the potholes. They are that deep. Probably half the missing persons can be found inside a pothole

Subject: RE: BS: The USofA
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 12 Aug 09 - 12:00 PM

I didn't see any litter on the side of any of the roads or hiways we traveled through

That's not because Americans don't litter. It's because we have lots of petty criminals who satisfy their community service sentences by picking up roadside trash. Without the "pick up trash or go to jail" option, our roads would probably look like Yazgur's Farm the day after Woodstock.

Subject: RE: BS: The USofA
From: maeve
Date: 12 Aug 09 - 12:08 PM

I'm glad you enjoyed your visit, Raptor. Another time let us Mainers know so we can say hello. There are many birdwatching treasure troves here, too. Please visit again.

Around here, Bee-dubya-ell, we pick up trash on our own local roads and those we travel. We also have highway crews doing trash sweeps at least once a year. In other places community groups "adopt" a section of highway to clean all year.

I appreciate your kind words about my home, Raptor.

maeve

Subject: RE: BS: The USofA
From: Janie
Date: 12 Aug 09 - 07:12 PM

In the Great State of North Carolina, you get to pick up trash while in jail. Prison work crews pick up trash along the interstates, complete with shotgun armed guards, a port-a-potty on the back of a truck, and a big orange diamond shaped sign on a tripod "Prisoners at Work."

Pretty good idea, actually. The prisoners are those in minumum security work camps, and they start early and end early, before the heat sets in.

We also have an "Adopt a Highway" program, that tends to focus more on 2 lane state maintained roads.

Subject: RE: BS: The USofA
From: Greg F.
Date: 13 Aug 09 - 09:13 AM

NY the place we spent the most in tolls seemed to spend the least on repairs for roads

Thank ex-governor George Pataki. In the name of The Republican Holy Grail of Tax Cuts for the Rich, the budget for infrastructure maintenence state-wide was cut drastically. As a consequence, roads bridges & etc are in crap shape & geting worse. The funding has yet to be restored to pre-Pataki levels.