BUZZURRO

Today I saw a bumper sticker that said ‘When Clinton Lied, Nobody Died’.

I assume the owners of this beautiful bumper sticker are Democrats and would like other people to know it and to also vote Democratic. However a bumper sticker that refers to the moment when the last Democratic president, Bill Clinton, lied in front of the Judiciary committee which is illegail if not immoral, just doesn’t make sense to me.

I voted for Bill Clinton in both presidential elections in which he was a candidate. I don’t think he was the greatest president the US ever had, but he was a good president, and when he lied to the American Public about his sexual activities I think it was a lowpoint of his 8 year presidency. Lying under oath is a crime. I really don’t care about his sex life, but lying under oath is a crime. Period. Out of 8 years of a decent presidential career all the writers of that bumper sticker could think of was the lowpoint ? The illegal moment? Why highlight that moment.

What is the purpose of that bumper sticker? Even if you believe that the current US president lied about WMDs to get US troops into Iraq, is stating that the ex-Democratic leader is a liar going to win any points? Does it make him a better person? I mean remember that 98 senators also voted to send the troops to Iraq and many of them were democratic too. They were probably not liars though.

What a waste of ink.

Driving in the US compared to driving in Italy is a pleasure. People basically follow the rules of the road according to the drivers manual that everybody studied.
In Italy those rules are tossed out the door once the driving test was passed and a drivers license is in their hands. The driving rule in Italy is You are king. Do whatever you want.
But all people in the US dont drive the same. New Jersey drivers have a reputation as being bad drivers, but New Mexico drivers are much, much worse.

Yesterday while driving very slow a roadrunner ran out in front of our car to cross the street. We slowed down to not hit it of course.
Wow ! I said.That was close. I almost killed him.
Then Buzzurro said: “He’s just like the typical New Mexican driver. Doing his own business and not even looking to see if it is safe first to do it”.
A good analogy. New Mexico drivers to the roadrunner, a strange bird (in our opinion) who prefers to run at fast speeds rather than fly.

New Mexico drivers also like to drive at very fast speeds. The speed limit on most highways is 75 miles per hour, but if you drive that speed you will get passed, and passed, and passed by the other motorists.
The roadrunner is a bird and does not come with directional signals. Cars sold in New Mexico however do, but nobody uses them.
And like our little adventure driving home points out, if a roadrunner is intent on crossing the road, he will, regardless if there is a car coming.
New Mexico drivers are the same way. Just try backing out of a parking space when a New Mexico driver is intent on driving in a straight line.
Or just try to make a right turn on a road with a red light. The New Mexican driver will never let you go in front of him. Once the intent of driving to a light only to stop is in place, nothing will change it.

The New Mexicans say “We are good drivers. Its all the Californians that move here that have bad driving habits”. But, well, I lived there. They may not be the greatest drivers either, but compared to New Mexican drivers they are all angels.

Besides, the roadrunner is New Mexico’s state bird.

Question: What are 2 caffeine-starved people supposed to do at 8 PM on a Thursday night ?
Answer: Go to Starbucks.
There is one less than 10 minutes away from where we live, so last night at 8PM we go to Starbucks.
Lo and behold, when we got there it was CLOSED. It closes at 7:30 PM, although for those night owls, the drive-thru is open to the all-time late hour of 8:30 PM.
I’ve never seen a Starbucks that closes so early. I’m used to an 11PM closing. At 7:30 I don’t even think about Starbucks vanilla lattes (my favorite). It’s too early. I am just making/eating dinner. Who thinks about dessert before the main course ?
Must be a small town thing, or so I thought until we went to the shop next door for coffee, a Dunkin Donuts, that stays open until 10 PM.
Ahhhh. Caffeine.

It is strange though how almost everything in the little town near us closes at 8 PM.
“Is it a high crime area?’ Buzzurro asked, trying to reason why, when all the other stores in the US close at 9 PM, including those in the next door town, maybe 15 minutes away.
“No, just a small town.’ Was the answer.
In Italy ALL stores close at 7:30 PM too, and there are no drive thrus. How soon one forgets…