#AroundTheWorld

Every day I work, which is only three days per week, I get to travel around the world in 8 hours. This area of Virginia is one of the fastest growing areas in the United States. People from all over the world move to this county. From over my counter I get to interact with Indians, Chinese, Afghanistan s, Mexicans, Filipinos, Iranians, Kenyans, and who knows. It has so broadened my view of our world.

Different dialects make me ask many times, to please repeat and sometimes they don't have the word I am used to associating with and most times they are patient with me. I get to witness different cultures at work in the way people dress and I get to see their expectations express themselves in the choices they make to be polite or pushy, and how they treat their kids and someone else's property.

I must admit that I had very little preconceived opinions of other cultures before I moved here and I don't think I am prejudiced, but I have gotten the impression that certain cultures do act in certain ways. I have developed an appreciation of people born and bred in America. They are basically kind, generous, polite and friendly.

A lady, about my age, came to my counter yesterday and was frustrated by an incident that had happened in the parking lot and was venting. She might have thought that we would think alike because we were close to the same age, so she mentioned that she had lived all over the world and that some Americans, specifically, Maxine Walters, should be required to live in a third world country for a while. "They don't know how good they have it here," she went on to say. "and they just stir up trouble and hate." Her husband had been in the U.S. Air Force and was sent all over the world in the line of duty as my son was as a Helicopter Pilot Instructor in the U.S. Army.

My son, years before, had mentioned to me how thankful he was for having been born in America because he had seen up close how much of our world lives. Helicopters fly much closer to the ground than jets and he had seen the squalor and poverty and results of despotism in many places. The Christian founders are still having influence in our country and God has blessed America far beyond our appreciation. But, we must not let the specialty of our constitution be eroded. We are a country of laws that should be honored and borders that should be maintained and politicians that should put the welfare of this country over their party or we will become a third world country.

May God Continue To Bless America!