Evidence, 914 Flyby Options

[DBCooper]

My son took the teener to a VW show in Sacramento. (It says Volkswagenwerk on the door sticker, doesn't it?)

He passed his buddies on the freeway. They filmed it, so now I know about it: Evidence.

[Zundfolge]

Here in Colorado, remaining in the left lane when faster traffic comes up behind you can get you a ticket, its designated as a "passing lane" and if you don't get out of the way of faster moving traffic you're "impeding traffic".

Of course people here have no idea what flashing your lights means (its just not part of our driving rules) and most take it as a rude gesture.

As for the handgun thing ... those that carry their handguns here LEGALLY are not the ones that are going to use them inappropriately ... I'm sure there are armed criminals in Germany too.

[DBCooper]

As for the handgun thing ... those that carry their handguns here LEGALLY are not the ones that are going to use them inappropriately ... I'm sure there are armed criminals in Germany too.

No? When we moved to Texas one of the first things we saw was a newspaper article about a society woman who was cut off in the Galleria (a fancy shopping district) by two scruffy guys in a car. Exchange of rude gestures, they got aggressive, so she got afraid and took off. They followed her onto the freeway, she waved her gun at them to scare them off, they blocked her car, everybody got out and did an O.K. Corral, and they killed her. She had a permit but they were undercover cops, so all was forgiven.

Right now there's a proposal to let university students in Texas carry handguns, to avoid another Virginia Tech incident. Fact is that the Texas schools typically rate high on the lists of "best party schools", so it's likely that Real Soon Now we're going to see how "appropriately" those crowds of drunken 19 year olds will be with their handguns. I'm not bein' critical, understand, I'm just sayin'....

Look, about driving, handguns, or anything else, you go with the flow. You may think Italians drive like idiots, but they have rules. Ever see a flock of birds take off from a field, fly as a group this way and that, but don't run into each other? That's the way Italians (and Spanish, and Brasilians, etc.) drive, just like those birds. Stop signs, speed limits, the lines dividing lanes, all mere suggestions. It's crazy, but the keep their distances and don't run into each other very much. Well they do, but not as much as you'd think. But put an American, or German, in the middle of those Italians and he won't understand their unwritten rules, and he'll likely get somebody killed. The same as putting an American or Italian onto a German autobahn. He won't understand the etiquette, will pass on the right, and he'll get somebody killed. It's not a question of right or wrong, it almost never is when you're someplace different than where you learned things. It's really "when in Rome".

Same with handguns. I grew up in the country with guns, but since I went urban forty years ago I haven't seen the need. These days I'm thinking I may have to do as Texans do, and get me something to defend myself from hordes of drunken teenagers. When in Rome... or when in Houston...