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Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Transportation Sharing the Road in Upstate NY

Posted by Sarah Mirk on Wed, Aug 5, 2009 at 11:58 AM

I just arrived back at my desk from 10 days of visiting various family in rural New York and Maine. It's a different culture up there than I'm used to in PDX. The souvenir store also sells guns, pork sausage featured prominently in the majority of dishes at the small town potluck (I've never seen "macaroni and cheese and bacon" in real life before) and events like the slow and sociable after-church coffee hour are the highlight of the day. After I mentioned to one suspender-wearing old-timer that everyone in town seemed to be related, he quipped, "Yeeep. We're really testin' the theory of relativity here."

But the best contrast came in the form of a road sign outside Clayton, NY:

7e23/1249498687-share_the_road.jpg

Where even grandmas ride ATVs.

 

Comments (14) RSS

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1
ATTENTION Portlanders: The vast majority of land between you and New York contains things like 'guns' 'churches' and 'hotdish'
Your city is a bubble of its' own reality to the diverse world outside.

And how did they 'seem' to be related?
Posted by D on August 5, 2009 at 12:47 PM · Report
2
"I've never seen "macaroni and cheese and bacon" in real life before"

I didn't know you grew up in Afghanistan. You should blog about that, I bet you have other interesting stories like this one.
Posted by GLV on August 5, 2009 at 12:52 PM · Report
3
D - you're confusing 'world' with 'America'. Portland might not have much in common with a lot of places in the US (thank god), but it's got far more in common with the rest of the world than those places do.
Posted by Stu on August 5, 2009 at 1:08 PM · Report
4
I don't care what they say, ATV's are safer than snowmobiles because after you go bar-hopping out on the frozen lakes, it's hard to see the chain across the boat ramp under all that snow. You're left with a bad neck-ache because that hidden chain has just decapitated you. Ah, the memories.
Posted by b-lo dave on August 5, 2009 at 1:19 PM · Report
5
gotta love the notion of advertising on public signage.

this sign brought to you by the proud folks at "honda"!
Posted by eric cantona on August 5, 2009 at 1:19 PM · Report
6
Portland, Oregon, USA, has more in common with the 'rest of the world' than 'those places?'
Like what? English speaking, unemployed hipsters? Ballparks, breweries, car dealerships and Whole Foods?
Please explain your vague wisdom o worldly one.
Posted by D on August 5, 2009 at 1:20 PM · Report
7
Share the boat ramp!
Posted by b-lo dave on August 5, 2009 at 1:21 PM · Report
8
where i come from, those are called off-road vehicles. Wait, I come from upstate new york. wtf!?
Posted by Skinny City Girl on August 5, 2009 at 1:40 PM · Report
9
"Portland might not have much in common with a lot of places in the US (thank god), but it's got far more in common with the rest of the world than those places do."

I was thinking the same thing when I was drinking an overpriced latte, listening to crappy indie-rock, and checking out all the "body art" at a hip coffee shop in Uzbekistan last month.
Posted by jake on August 5, 2009 at 2:58 PM · Report
10
I was wondering why the general level of writing had raised to a mediocre level. Smirk was in a different time zone. Can we get some more amazement at fly-over states and general Americana in these posts, please?
Posted by Graham on August 5, 2009 at 3:14 PM · Report
11
D - let's start with public transit, people not wanting to just drive everywhere, lower number of strip malls, lower proportion of religious folk, lower gun ownership, interest in the world outside US borders, hatred of neo-conservative warmongering, tolerance, and refusal to care about baseball...

Not all of those things are present in every other country, but they're far more prevalent outside the US than in the flyover states.
Posted by Stu on August 5, 2009 at 4:11 PM · Report
12
Based on exactly what Stu, because you say so while looking out of your inner SE Portland window?
Get in your public transit and take a trip out to 82nd and Foster someday.
Come back when you can craft and argument based on statistics or what we here like to call 'facts'

Posted by D on August 5, 2009 at 5:26 PM · Report
13
You should at least try some mac n' cheese with pancetta. C'mon... live a little.
Posted by LokNaar on August 5, 2009 at 6:52 PM · Report
14
The photo of the sign is photoshopped?
Posted by Jack Acid on August 5, 2009 at 7:36 PM · Report

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