Category: Daily Life in the USA

Rite of Passage

I heard about Costco while in Cambodia, and then when I returned, my sister Mary introduced me to the real thing and eventually I got a membership. In articles, I had also seen mention of the $1.50 hot dog combo, their trademark food offering that never changes its price.

Today I went to Costco to get some things for my trip to Cambodia next week and since it was lunch time and I was far from home, I decided to try the hot dog and a Coke. Not bad!

The “dining room” lacks a certain elegance, but now I feel like a real Ahmuracan!!

Here and There, Then and Now

After 42 years in Asia, I returned home to Kentucky. But it isn’t the home I left. Things I saw THEN are different NOW. Life HERE is different from life THERE. Here is another example of the differences.

then

Funeral homes have a long tradition of providing “Comfort & Service to Families” upon the death of a loved one, as the Rattermans ad below indicates.

now

The loved ones of the family apparently now include the family pets. I wouldn’t have seen THAT forty years ago!

Here and There, Then and Now

then

When I left the USA four decades ago, containers had become an established dimension of the shipping industry but most were TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) and they weren’t as all-pervasive as they are now. They didn’t appear so much on city streets and in all kinds of commercial settings.

now

Today I was stopped more than five minutes by a long slow train moving through our neighborhood on one of the main rail lines still serving Louisville. The first thing I noticed is that CSX has replaced our beloved L&N (Louisville and Nashville) railroad.

Next I noticed that the old TEUs which used to ride on standard flatcars have been replaced almost exclusively by the FEUs (forty-foot equivalent units), and in place of the old flatcars new purpose-built carriages convey not one but two stacked FEUs. Things have changed.

Here and There, Then and Now

There

In Cambodia I ate by myself and didn’t cook except to microwave what someone else cooked. For a typical supper I had a small bowl of rice, a cup of some mixture of cooked vegetables and meat that I bought, and two small Cambodian bananas.

here

In the USA and especially at Nazareth Home where I live, the meals I am served are HUGE portions that fill a plate. It’s way too much food and I keep asking for smaller portions but the serving staff keep changing and I still get too much.

Kentucky Democracy

One of the positives of my returning to the United States is that I can do more in working actively to preserve our Constitution and promote democracy. Distance was a limiting factor when I was in Cambodia.

Tonight I went to a meeting of the Clifton (the Louisville neighborhood where I live) Community Council. Members of the council turned in their ballots for the governing board and then we heard from a member (L) of the metro group working on homelessness and from a deputy mayor (R) focused also on housing. Added to the main agenda items were various recommendations and suggestions for keeping democracy alive in the midterm elections 50 days away.

Laws of Nature

When I was working on a homily this afternoon, some big birds outside my window caught my attention. I gently parted the blinds so I wouldn’t scare them away. The reflection of the blinds created the horizontal stripes in the lower right corner. I didn’t notice taking this shot that two of the birds were eating something.

It turned out these were turkey buzzards and they were eating a baby raccoon. (See the ringed tail.) These two were young buzzards and they could eat together when the dominant male finished eating all he wanted. But when he came back for more, they had to scatter.

After an hour, all that was left of the raccoon was leg bones, some fur, and its rib cage.

Here and There, Then and Now

After 42 years in Asia, I returned home to Kentucky. But it isn’t the home I left. Things I saw THEN are different NOW. Life HERE is different from life THERE. Here is another sample of the differences.

here and then

My first bank account was at Greater Louisville First Federal Savings and Loan Association. And in those days banker’s hours were 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

there and now

My bank account in Phnom Penh was with ABA Bank. Many banking practices in Cambodia call to mind banks of the 1950s in the US, but as for banking hours, ABA was the best!

Monday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Tuesday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Wednesday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Thursday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Friday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Saturday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Sunday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM

Here and There, Then and Now

After 42 years in Asia, I returned home to Kentucky. But it isn’t the home I left. Things I saw THEN are different NOW. Life HERE is different from life THERE—except for Big Rock!

THEN

Big Rock is a well-known landmark in Louisville. Located on Beargrass Creek which meanders through much of Jefferson County, it has been a place of fun for generations. It was certainly an attraction for my family 75 years ago and it was probably around for several million years before that.

NOW

NOW is the same as THEN! Kids still clamber up the rock, feeling a sense of accomplishment, and then jump off into the water about a yard deep. It’s a fun place to play on a hot day and parents can picnic on the grassy shores–unless they’re in the water, too!

I still need haircuts in Kentucky

In Cambodia, I had my haircut by our Job Training Project students and I learned from running the program how important it is for training programs to get customers so the barber trainees get as much experience as possible. That led me to Tri City Barber College in Louisville where Connor gave me a haircut today.