A joke?

"So an Evangelical, a Muslim, an Orthodox Jew, a lapsed Catholic, and a pagan ..."

Sounds like the start of an uncomfortable joke. Let's see how it turns out.

".. all go to work. And talk over their lives, friends, families, loves, fears, and little adventures in tiny doses between navigating far too much work stress during the day."

It's not a joke. It's where I work. Truth be told, as far as I can remember, I've seen all sorts pass through the doors of my office at our very small company over the last fifteen years.

One morning at the food library a few years back I met an older man in the produce section. Maybe he was seventy? Maybe he was seventy-five? I'm the sort where conversations with strangers just seem to happen, and what started as a quick question from one to the other about potatoes became a conversation for reasons unknown. He was tall and gaunt and had that rugged exterior about him. He told me that he recently moved to New Jersey and is staying his sister. He said he had spent the better part of his life in Wyoming. In my usual display of self-deprecating humor over the reputation of my home state I exclaimed "You moved TO NJ? On PURPOSE????"

He smiled and this senior citizen, who was the physical embodiment of a cowboy said "I got sick of the 'cowboy attitude'." He went on to explain that he loved all sorts of people and was well pleased with the diversity in NJ.

That made me quite proud.

No, NJ is far from perfect. It's expensive, it's crowded, if you're not used to sarcasm it can be jarring. The traffic is nightmarish at the best of times. It's a bit of a cultural parking lot sandwiched between New York City and Philadelphia.

In spite of it being so crowded with the very rich and the very poor in relatively close proximity on the regular, most folks have a very 'live and let live' attitude with one another.

For a state usually discounted as inconsequential, we're pretty dang diverse.

We have to be!

It's a densely populated place and we'd all rather just get on with our lives rather than hassle one another.

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I moved from GA to AL toward the last half of 2022. I've lived in the same area of GA my whole life and was extremely nervous to move to AL especially given its reputation.

Now, I know for a fact AL is far from perfect and other areas might live up to the state reputation. But being in this particular city is so refreshing. I don't have to fight for my life in traffic everyday. People just let you merger or turn. No one really gets road rage or tries to run you off the road. When I go to visit my old home, the commute experience heading into my county always reminds me that few ppl actually value your life and they're cynical af there.

Also this area in AL is far more diverse than where I came from. My neighborhood alone has white ppl, black ppl, Korean ppl, Mexican ppl. I've seen Muslims and Indians at mu favorite grocery store. My old Town could never.

And ppl are actually extremely helpful here. A woman advised me about which eggs to pick for price and quality randomly one day. Ppl hold the door open for you. Compliment you occasionally. Customer service reps are far friendlier and more likely to offer help unbidden.

It was a culture shock from the weird, cynical, almost hateful vibe of my old town. I didn't realize just how bad it was till I left. All this to say, I relate to the old man cause living in a new place adds a fresh lens and can uplift you despite its reputation.

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Well spoken!

by Cranky Old Witch; 1680349920; Report

Jon 🐇