@Holly Saunders you titled this thread right, I've met a lot of people who think this way. When we first got stationed at our base in the UK, we lived in the town of Braintree waiting for our name to get to the top of the wait list for on base housing. This gave us time to become acclimated to our new environment and driving on the left. After a few months, we moved on base and truly missed our little 'house' in the town. After 2 years, this base closed and I was stationed 63 miles down the road at RAF Alconbury. Since it was close, we had a chance to scout out a new house to wait out moving on base there. We were lucky enough to find a very old house in the village of Somersham. Our family loved the Village, the house and the wonderful people who lived there. Time came and we were offered a house on the base, but we sat down and discussed it and decided to turn it down. One of the reasons was that every time we visited our friends who lived on base, we would sit in their backyard and they would discuss what they missed about being away from the U.S. and they never would consider venturing outside the gates to explore the country. " don't understand the money", " Food taste funny...", "drive on the wrong side..." are things we would hear. I, on the other hand, would think of the adventures our family had taking a train to explore London, visiting small Villages, Castles and just walking the paths. Dinner at the local Pub where we were welcomed so warmly. How sad it was for those to be posted for 4 years in a country and they really didn't live there, they lived on an extension of the U.S. ( if you know what I mean ). This guy ain't afraid of no Dragons, lead on !
I agree, @Tim Burr. When I was stationed in Japan, there were guys who would venture only into the few businesses just outside the gates that catered to U.S. military. We were only 50 miles from Tokyo and most of the guys had never been there. My first free weekend, I caught the train to Tokyo, then on to Kyoto and Osaka 300 miles away. I simply found a cab driver who spoke English, told him where I wanted to go and what I what I wanted to do. He wrote it all down in a notebook for me and I tipped him big. I hopped on the train, and when ever I got confused, I showed someone on the train or in the station my notebook, and they would take my arm and guide me to where I needed to go. It was great! Later I traveled to the Sea of Japan where nobody speaks English, and at the time, most of the people, at least the young folks, hadn't seen a Caucasian. I stayed in ryokans and immersed myself in the culture, of course by that time I could understand something of the language, although I was never what I would call fluent, and I could only read the basic street and transportation signs.
@Ken Anderson , it's not a city, it's a small town pop max 15,000 @Tim Burr ..have I ever told you I live kinda smack right in between Braintree and Alconbury? Funny you should say that many American serviceman stayed on the base and complained about being away from home, instead of going out as you did and discovering the joys not only of this area..but so many other cities and villages,...especially village pubs lol... because you're not the first person to tell me the same thing. There seemed to be a mix at RAF Alconbury of airmen who just wanted to do their time here like it was a Jail sentence. They have no idea what they missed right outside their door basically..!!!..
meant to add... Trains are common here almost every town has a train station, and cities have several . We all travel by train generally speaking, whether by inter-city sleeper, or commuter train or subway ... and I've always had a love for trains.
It's a matter of perspective. I grew up in a town of 200 and currently live in a town of about 2,000.
@Holly Saunders I saw similar behavior among the Brits in places like Singapore. I don't think they were afraid, but they usually stayed on base and drank in the bars on base rather than wander the city-state. In the club on base, they could get rowdy and sing and dance on the tables and nobody cared. That wouldn't have been permitted in The Raffles Hotel, for instance.
Oh I understand that Brits do it too..not picking on the Americans, just sad that they missed out on so much as @Tim Burr will attest. My ex husband was in the Navy almost the whole time we were married and he travelled and I think they pretty much just went ashore for clubbing and pubbing, but saw little of any of the countries they visited other than that!! Me ? ...I would be everywhere...you wouldn't be able to stop me!!
Growing up in Pittsburgh, our roots have always been deep. I am not a "potted plant" and do not enjoy traveling great distances. I guess we all have different sized comfort zones, which is normal. The trick is to be happy with your life!
I have been to the dragon’s den and there was a sign on the entrance to it that said, “gone fishing”. Seriously though, I think there are some “country” folks in Louisiana who are so isolated and home bound that they believe that Huey P. Long is still the governor. They fish or farm for whatever their needs might be but beyond making a few bucks off of some of their products from the nearest city, they avoid outside contact like a pending heart attack. For them I do suppose the motto of: If it works, don’t fix it” is clearly and keenly imbedded in nearly every man, woman, sister, brother and mother and going anywhere outside their almost tribal area would be too overwhelming.
I know there are many people like that here in Louisiana that live out in the Swamp areas Bobby. I think part of my not caring to go slay those dragons any longer is that I spent so much of my life doing just that. Growing up we moved all the time because my dad was in the Service (Air Force and Army) and then a traveling Salesman. We moved so much that it was a good thing I had all my siblings to share friendship with because we didn't stay anywhere long enough to make long term friends. Then when I married my ex chose a Career where we were moving every couple of years too. I guess I just don't feel like slaying dragons anymore but prefer to keep my feet planted on solid ground now...for the most part. I like to slay them through books that take me all over or movies and even travel films....my head doesn't mind traveling all over but the rest of me likes doing it from my home base...for the most part.
@Bobby Cole your post reminds me of the 1970 Jerry Reed song Amos Moses. I really wish my mind contained some useful information, LOL!!!
I didn't know how to read a map until I met Johnny from Arkansas. To have him tell it he knows most of the major interstates in the U.S. after being in the Navy 12 years -- then how come we would still get lost. Could it be that he didn't like my map reading skills? If there were dragons I'm sure glad we didn't run into them along the way.
The thing is @Babs Hunt it's nowt to do with dragon slaying for me, it's simply curiosity and the wish to see and learn about other places, people, the geography of things the language or dialects of different areas, the way people interact in different places even just here in the UK... I've always been a traveller ...even if of late while my health hasn't been great ... it means just driving to another town in the same county to have a walk around and have lunch .. That said, in the same vein as your point @Bobby Cole ...I was talking to one of the older farmers round these parts a few years ago and when i mentioned that I was going into the city the next day ( Central London is 20 miles from here)... he said he'd been to ''Lunnon'' once, and he saw no reason to go again, and when further pressed , he said he'd been in 1947!!!!! ...when I explained that things had changed a lot since then, and that seemed to further solidify his reason never to go again.. He was perfectly content living and working on his farm, and getting everything he required in the way of company at the village pub or grocery store..
Men don’t need no stinking maps! We are natural wayfarers and what could be construed as getting lost is merely our natural subconscious mind urging us to do research and discovery......