Perfection vs. Reality

If you have ever been to south Florida, then you know that we are not the friendliest people. Technically, we are "the South," but "the South" really ends somewhere around the middle of the state. Anything below that may as well be known as a melting pot of New York, New Jersey, the Caribbean, South America, Central America, and the regular old Florida crackers. Again, we are not friendly, as much as I hate to say that.


Im not sure what causes this unfriendliness, though. Whether it is because we have such a mix of people with different ideals of living, driving, etc., or because the people that make up our area have never been taught manners. For example, when you are trying to pull out on to a street and cars are backed up, forget about Mr. Friendly letting you out. He will pull up and block you. Wait your turn... whenever that turn may come.


Driving down the interstate proves to be tedious, as well. You have cars that will drive 95mph in a 65mph zone, mixed with cars that will drive 55mph in the same zone. This can be a bit, well, deadly. No wonder our accident rates are so high. Perhaps in the Caribbean, no one sees the need to rush... but when you put them on the road with those from New York driving a distance of 20 miles from point A to point B in a New York minute... lookout!


I have had the opportunity to meet people from Pittsburgh. They are just, well, nice. And calm. Almost to a fault. No one seems to rush, no one seems to panic, no one seems so rude. It is like being in a different country with a whole new breed of people. A glorious breed!

Worry #5: My perception of the perfection of Pittsburgh folks could be faulty.

Sometimes I get visions in my head that allow my mind to start thinking in a certain manner, only to be crushed later. In fact, I dont just do this sometimes, I do it quite often. For instance, the likelihood of there being a rude person in Pittsburgh who is going to try to run me over on the road one day is probably fairly high. I just havent met that person yet, so the opinion I have formed is that he or she does not exist. I will probably be disappointed when I do. It will burst my little perfect Pittsburgh bubble. And then I will react the best way that a south Floridian knows how... attempt to show them that I can run them over just as well, if not better.

Yep... an outsider in Pittsburgh. On the loose.

Note to self: Keep a clear mind and just welcome the friendliness, rather than expect it.

In the meantime, I figured I would prove my statements a bit by saying that according to the US Census, Florida had 2,558 auto accidents while Pennsylvania had 1,256 in 2009. The attitude of the driver has to account for something!! Bring on the happy :-)

"Im one of those regular weird people" ~ Janis Joplin