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<DIV><FONT size=4>Fred</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT size=4>I am reminded of the chap who worked for me as my distribution
center manager in Charlotte. He was a tried and true Southerner, born and
bred in South Carolina.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT size=4>His definitions:</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT size=4>A Yankee is someone who comes down here, spends his money, and
goes back north.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT size=4>A Damn Yankee is someone who comes down here and
stays.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT size=4>Quite appropriate in Charlotte.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT size=4>Dwight</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=fwschneider@comcast.net
href="mailto:fwschneider@comcast.net">Fred Schneider</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, 11 July, 2013 18:42</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=pittsburgh-railways@mailman.dementix.org
href="mailto:pittsburgh-railways@mailman.dementix.org">Western PA Trolley
discussion</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: [PRCo] Highway Speed Limits</DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV>
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style="FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none; DISPLAY: inline">There
are prejudices everywhere, aren't there. I remember a waitress in
Switzerland who could simply not understand a German speaking fluent hoch
Deutsch … I could understand him but she could not. I think it was a
case of he isn't speaking my dialect so I don't give a damn … she may have
considered him a lesser being because anyone who spoke hoch Deutsche instead of
Schweizer Deutsche didn't come from her country. <BR><BR>I wonder
how the Germans feel about the Americans after more than a half century of one
to three U. S. divisions encamped in their country? How would we feel if
another nation had a military presence in Pittsburgh for almost 60
years? I don't think we need to answer that, do we?<BR><BR>Remember
when the French ran us out in the early 1960s. Many of us took had a
rather high and mighty attitude toward them but look at it from their
side. Phil Craig, whose name you may see occasionally if you are
involved in any mailing lists, was in the military in France in the 1950s and
dating a French lady who took him home for dinner one evening. As
Phil told me the story, her dad asked how he perceived the French attitude
toward the Americans. Phil said something to the affect that we
didn't feel exactly welcome. Then the father said, "Well the Bosch
occupied us for three years. You have been liberating us for 13
years. Don't you think it's time you go home?"
<BR><BR>Am I surprised that a German would try to entrap an American in K-town,
a city that for years has been 50% American? Hell no.<BR><BR>That would be
no different than someone in Lancaster, Pennsylvania wishing the New York
tourists would go the hell home in the summer.<BR><BR><BR><BR>On Jul 11, 2013,
at 5:16 PM, Joshua Dunfield wrote:<BR><BR>> On 11.07.2013, Fred Schneider
<fwschneider@comcast.net> wrote:<BR>>> There was also an interesting
news item floating on the internet this week<BR>>> …. German politicians
about to put speed limits on the remaining portions of<BR>>> the Autobahn
(-en) that have no posted limits.<BR>> <BR>> Really? They made some
noise about that a couple months ago, but it<BR>> sounded like it wasn't
going anywhere, despite the usual evidence that<BR>> it would save
lives.<BR>> <BR>>> My own opinions about those high limits?
The fit a lot better in a nation<BR>>> like Germany than they ever would
here because the Germans were not allowed<BR>>> to teach their own kids
how to drive. ... The German highway<BR>>> fatality rate is
15% lower than the US (that's fatalities per vehicle mile)<BR>>> in spite
of the fact that they have 6.6 times more people per square mile<BR>>>
than we have. I think that says something for better training and
better<BR>>> acceptance of rules. Rules? It isn't
a cat and mouse game like here.<BR>>> If the speed limit is 80 km/hr, they
don't shade it upward by 10 or 15 like<BR>>> we would. They
accept the rules.<BR>> <BR>> No question that German drivers are far more
competent than Americans.<BR>> And they follow the rules, more or less.
The 30 km limit, which<BR>> applies to most streets in Kaiserslautern, isn't
followed terribly<BR>> well. A number of streets (like the one I live
on) are<BR>> "Verkehrsberuhigter Bereich", traffic-calming zones, where
you're<BR>> supposed to drive "as slowly as possible, in no case faster than
7<BR>> km/h". 7 km/h is a brisk walk. No one actually follows
that. The<BR>> nicer drivers (in practice, probably the ones who *live*
on those<BR>> streets, and don't want to annoy their neighbors) will go
20.<BR>> <BR>> When I see exceptionally bad driving in Kaiserslautern, I
assume it's<BR>> an American from the base. I gather it's not entirely
trivial to get<BR>> the US military's European driver's license, but it's got
to be easier<BR>> than going to German driving school. If you just
happen to be<BR>> American, and not military, many US states have reciprocal
agreements<BR>> that let you exchange your state license for a German
license...which<BR>> never expires! The wisdom of letting someone with
an American level<BR>> of driving education drive on a highway at 240 km/h,
perfectly<BR>> legally, escapes me.<BR>> <BR>> The funniest story I
have, though, is that Kaiserslautern drivers have<BR>> a reputation for
tricking outsiders into getting speeding tickets.<BR>> There's a major street
with a 50 km limit; it has speed cameras.<BR>> People from out of town tend
to speed on it (I'm sure the locals did,<BR>> too, until the cameras were
installed), and supposedly, some local<BR>> drivers will watch for
out-of-town cars behind them (you can easily<BR>> see where a German car is
registered from the first letters of its<BR>> license plate), and as they
approach a speed camera, the KL driver<BR>> will slow down just enough to
goad the following car into passing, but<BR>> not enough to allow the
following car to stay under 50. Ka-ching!<BR>> <BR>> -j.<BR>>
<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>>
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