Pappy's Next Chapter: Occupy Oakland, and Other Random Thoughts

Occupy Oakland? Why would anyone want to occupy Oakland? If these folks want to get more people involved with their cause, they need to choose their cities more carefully. They need to invite people to occupy Monterrey, California, Vail, Colorado, or Grafton, Vermont, not Oakland, California.

Why are the French so disliked by so many? I had a couple of brief encounters with the French recently, the first time since 1978, and I was reminded why I had such a low opinion of them. They are rude. A line means nothing to them. If they want something, they just squeeze in and take it. No apology. No, “Excuse me.” Even the flight attendants on the Air France plane were cold, though not quite rude. While watching British television recently, I noted that several comedians made fun of the French. American comedians used to make jokes about the French, but seem to have lost interest in the past few years. But making fun of the “frogs” is still fun for the British. I asked a British tour guide if the general British dislike of the French was why they had fish and chips instead of fish and french fries. She just smiled.

Why do I find listening to little children speak with an accent different from mine cute or funny? I was in London watching the one event all tourists are required to watch, the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, when I heard a little English boy behind me ask his father, “Does this belong to the queen?” He was referring to a statue on which he was sitting. If an American child had asked that same question, I might not have even taken notice. But, because it was said with a British accent, I can’t get it out of my mind. Now that I think of it, I have never heard anyone remark about how my accent is cute, funny or even interesting. How does an American accent (not southern, Brooklyn, New Jersery, or any of those other extreme ones) sound to people from other countries? It is a strange question to ponder.

Ever notice how people will overuse or misuse a particular event when trying to make a comparison to a current incident? For instance, people will often compare something to what they imagine a war zone looks like, or what they think an atom bomb may have done when dropped on Japan. Or, we will hear Hitler compared to just about any politician people don’t like. When I hear these comparisons, I immediately dismiss the person and the severity of the incident they are concerned about, because I know it must be an overstatement. I also get a little offended because I know that comparison is trivializing the actual event. For example, people who were directly affected by Adolf Hitler’s actions by being confined to a concentration camp, are being compared to, for instance, affluent American people who are being slightly inconvenienced by some piece of legislation. Well, I heard another one this morning that riled me. I heard Jack Hanna, the well-known animal expert, compare the recent killing of 49 exotic animals in Ohio to the attacks on 9-11-01. “To me, this is the 9/11 of the animal world.” Really? He’s comparing the killing of 49 animals by police, an action he believes was necessary, to the killing of 2,977 human beings in a cowardly act of terrorism? What is the point of his comparison? The number of dead? The killers’ profiles? The mechanism of death? I don’t get it, and I’m offended by his use of this comparison.

While traveling recently, I took some pictures of signs I thought were interesting, thought provoking or funny.