Anton, the first thing I thought when I finished
your last post was that I hope that you don’t have to
ever consume food produced in the evil California soil!
Heck, I was going to invite you to come out and do
some trout fishing and complete the day with a bottle
of some of the world’s best wine produced over in the
Napa Valley. But I sure would not want you to dip your
toes in the waters of hell and drink my Cool Aid. And
speaking of drinking Cool Aid my family has been in
California for four generations yet you say I have
been brain washed? The Rust Belt has been leaking
population for how long? I won’t judge you for staying.
I do not live by politics alone but I will
allow for the possibility of pulling up stakes.
But have you read some of things FReepers
say about California transplants? I’ll stay and
vote for the most conservative candidates I can find.
But let me know when Jim Robinson moves from Fresno
to Akron and I’ll rethink my options.
BTW....Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. I love my old school.
We lost some football players in a Bowling Green
plane crash back in ‘60. Sad.
Well, we’d be tickled to have you here. You would find that we have trout too, and other species. And, we are actually allowed to fish for them without a hoard of greenweenies protesting the catching of fish. I have deer, racoon, wild turkey and non-venomous snakes in my suburban yard. I saw a coyote across the street the other day. I’m 10 minutes from the city center. My commute is 10 minutes.
Comparative statistics do not show you what we know to be true about the Midwest, i.e. if you are well employed in Cincinnati Ohio, your standard of living is a multiple of what you would experience in Redding CA even though Redding is a small secular town without the arts and cultural amenities that are found in Cincinnati. And, for the most part, one does not have to put up with the antics of politicians and activists that make California such a kooky place. My children went to two of the best schools in the US, yes, public schools. Right here in Cincinnati. And, they did not have to take Islam as a mandatory core requirement or use the bathrooms with persons of the opposite sex.
People in California sometimes do not realize just how bad they have it. The state has ratcheted down a little bit every year, gotten a little more expensive every year, and a little more restrictive every year, and a little more kooky every year, and perhaps they do not notice it. The glamor of the past century is long gone. We don’t envy Californians; we pity them. If I never see a film industry celebrity in person it will be fine with me. I don’t drink wine, but if I did, I am sure it would ship here just fine. However, we have local produce and markets with things that are not grown on a desert floor. Perhaps not as abundantly, but vastly superior. You should try a tomato grown naturally in Ohio. Or, some real fresh corn. Not produced with chemicals and irrigation in the desert. I have a 40,000 gallon in ground pool and no one bats an eye if I decide to empty and refill it in order to touch up the tile or paint.
I see that you have to stay. But, at least give your children a chance to break free. Send them to college out here and let them experience something different than the four generations you have invested there. They will be happier for it. And, again, see if you can maintain a sense of humor about the inevitable cracks.