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After 11,000 miles on a bike, a new impression of Americans
The Boston Globe ^
| 8/20/2007
| Andrew Ryan
Posted on 08/20/2007 1:23:04 PM PDT by BronzePencil
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To: toddlintown
Maybe this will soften your impression of him. From the article:
“After being here, I really think that [Americans] aren’t that different than the Dutch,” Aandewiel said. “In fact, I really think they are friendlier — and really more helpful than Dutch people.”
21
posted on
08/20/2007 1:38:04 PM PDT
by
saganite
(Billions and billions and billions----and that's just the NASA budget!)
To: jbwbubba
The dirty, dirty Dutch,
They don’t amount to much.
But they’re a damn sight better than the Irish.
There’s Amsterdam Dutch and Rotterdam Dutch
And the Potsdamn Dutch
And all the other damn Dutch.
22
posted on
08/20/2007 1:38:42 PM PDT
by
Lonesome in Massachussets
(NYT Headline: Protocols of the Learned Elders of CBS: Fake but Accurate, Experts Say)
To: lovecraft
They make special toe clips for bicycles in Holland that will fit a wooden shoe. Don’t believe me? Check out one of their bicycle web-sites.
To: BronzePencil
Now, reflecting on his trip from the YMCA, he says he has some 300 miles left to go.
&&&
This writer really needs to spend a little time rereading his work before submitting it.
24
posted on
08/20/2007 1:40:57 PM PDT
by
Bigg Red
(Duncan Hunter in 2008!)
To: BronzePencil
“After being here, I really think that [Americans] aren’t that different than the Dutch,” Aandewiel said. “In fact, I really think they are friendlier — and really more helpful than Dutch people.”
Yeah, try forming opinions of people based on first hand experience next time and not what you see portrayed by hollyweird or the foreign press.
I think a lot of Euros think they’re generous b/c they permit 50%+ of their checks to be taken from them for social welfare programs while we whine about taxes. The difference is we like to give out of our own pockets as we sit fit and don’t require nanny gov’t telling us who, when, where, and why to give.
I hope he writes a book and spreads the word. The anti Americanism has to cease. I recently visited Europe and had no problems, but I did notice that we were the only ones who tipped and were polite. (i.e. saying excuse me, moving over so people could get by, please and thank you, etc.).
25
posted on
08/20/2007 1:41:20 PM PDT
by
enough_idiocy
(Get the troops out of the Iraqi civil war and send them to the Sudan civil war. Biden '08 /sarcasm)
To: BronzePencil
I bet the first thing he noticed at the start of his 11,000 miles on a bicycle, is that most of the United States is not flat.
To: BronzePencil
>>"We really think of Americans as how we perceive the United States government, and that's a little arrogant and stubborn," Aandewiel said by telephone. LOL And us Dutch folks aren't arrogant & stubborn??? His family must not have been like mine!
27
posted on
08/20/2007 1:43:12 PM PDT
by
JenBrower
(...government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. - Ronald Reagan)
To: this is my name not yours
People in the Middle West and South, also the West are a lot friendlier than those in the Northeast for some weird reason.
28
posted on
08/20/2007 1:43:38 PM PDT
by
hershey
To: BronzePencil
No mention of how and or why the biker and all his countrymen bought the media’s slant on America and what he plans on doing with his 15 minutes.
29
posted on
08/20/2007 1:43:52 PM PDT
by
subterfuge
(Today, Tolerance =greatest virtue;Hypocrisy=worst character defect; Discrimination =worst atrocity)
To: BronzePencil
rollin’ rollin’ rollin’,
Mein butt chur es swollen,
Keep dat Dutchman rollin’/Rawheide
30
posted on
08/20/2007 1:44:44 PM PDT
by
tumblindice
(Ya, dykes in der lowlands)
To: BronzePencil
We really think of Americans as how we perceive the United States government, and that's a little arrogant and stubborn," Aandewiel said by telephone
I also think the American government is arrogant and stubborn...also very corrupt, incompetent and inefficient
Now, get back to work...hundreds of thousands of government bureaucrats are depending on you
31
posted on
08/20/2007 1:44:48 PM PDT
by
uxbridge
To: jbwbubba
"How can he ride a bike with wooden shoes; Im sure he misses his windmill. Still its a good thing to get past sterotypes." Post of the day, hands down! Thanks for the laugh!
32
posted on
08/20/2007 1:45:04 PM PDT
by
libs_kma
(www.imwithfred.com)
To: jbwbubba
I often see a few old men in the local village (south of Rotterdam) riding bicycles with wooden shoes on their feet. No joke!
33
posted on
08/20/2007 1:45:22 PM PDT
by
Cap Huff
To: BronzePencil
First it was Alexis de Toqueville, then Jack Kerouac and the memorable Malcolm Merriweather; now we have Chris Aandewiel reminding us that all is not wrong with the world as we know it. :>)
34
posted on
08/20/2007 1:46:17 PM PDT
by
Old Professer
(The critic writes with rapier pen, dips it twice, and writes again.)
To: BronzePencil
After 11,000 miles or so it’s about time to change the bearings in the crank and maybe the wheels.
35
posted on
08/20/2007 1:48:50 PM PDT
by
deport
(>>>--Keep your powder dry--<<< [ Meanwhile:-- Cue Spooky Music--])
To: james500
My in-laws are Dutch and live in a small rural village. As I'm a teacher, I was curious about the school there, so I asked their neighbor (also a teacher) if she could arrange a visit. She could. The kids found out I was coming, and wrote a couple of hundred questions about America. A lot of them were about weapons, violence, and the like, the same kinds of things they see on TV. I pointed out to them that the US is a lot bigger than the Netherlands, and that, as such, we have more people and more "hot spots" than they do. Also, our media is more invasive, and is more apt to rely on the sensational. Most of them understood this, and the myth of shootouts in the street and everyone driving fast cars was, I hope, dispelled. They applauded at the end.
36
posted on
08/20/2007 1:50:57 PM PDT
by
Othniel
(Mohammad: False Prophet and Smeghead Deluxe....)
To: BronzePencil
So a Dutchman bicycled back and forth across America. I bet hundreds of Americans have bicycled across the Netherlands, but do they get noticed? Noooo... < /sarc>
(I checked a map and it looks like it would take 2 weeks to circle the Netherlands at his 30 miles/day pace).
37
posted on
08/20/2007 1:51:06 PM PDT
by
KarlInOhio
(May the heirs of Charles Martel and Jan Sobieski rise up again to defend Europe.)
To: BronzePencil
Quote from the Dutch cyclist:
“After being here, I really think that [Americans] aren’t that different than the Dutch,” Aandewiel said. “In fact, I really think they are friendlier — and really more helpful than Dutch people.”
Duh! Make sure you tell every European you meet!
38
posted on
08/20/2007 1:54:14 PM PDT
by
vladimir998
(Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. St. Jerome)
To: BronzePencil
Along the way, he saw coyotes, bald eagles, blue whales, black bears, a condor, and a moose. Dang, Blue whales on a bike. But kudos to the guy for taking this adventure. I'm glad to know that Americans did not disappoint him.
39
posted on
08/20/2007 1:54:27 PM PDT
by
Fzob
(In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. Jefferson)
To: BronzePencil
Aw the Dutch. A whole lot stupid and soft now are being over run by Muslims.
Alex, I’ll take stubborn and arrogant for a thousand.
40
posted on
08/20/2007 1:57:24 PM PDT
by
em2vn
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