How I See the USA (and how it sees me) - ep.203 with my guest Snoopy

The Comin’ Home Podcast with John Alan

How I see the USA... Does it match with how the USA sees me?

We returned from our family vacation a few days ago. I have lived here in Norway for 21 years now, and I don't get home to my home State of Ohio often enough. Every time I go back, I am made aware of how much things have changed in the USA. There is always a little more construction that has taken away some of the beautiful local nature, for example. The political landscape has changed and moved into an existence that is uglier, more paranoid, more aggressive, and more exclusionary.

The other side of that coin, though, is this: I also saw many reminders of what is still beautiful about the people and places in America, and more specifically, all the beauty of the places and people back home in my area of rural and suburban Ohio. For example, I was often charmed by the laughter-filled, short conversations with strangers while shopping or while walking around. The wildlife was just as amazing as I remember it to have been during my childhood.

Of course, my family is still there back home. I enjoyed sitting back and watching my kids get to know family members with whom they previously had only known through telephone conversations.

Beautiful...

In this episode, Snoopy and I talk about some of these experiences, both good and bad, from our (roughly) three-week vacation to Ohio.

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Here are some sources for one or more of my comments on this episode:

• I messed up on the age of the child who was involved, but the essence of my presentation and opinion of this incident remain. https://pridepublishinggroup.com/2023/08/04/texas-police-mistakenly-hold-black-family-at-gunpoint-in-traffic-stop-mishap/

#CominHomeWithJohnAlan #Ohio #Vacation