Recently my wife and I were eating at Ihop in Harrisonburg, and I noticed a “gang” of guys, probably in their teens or early 20’s, occupying a table and I noticed one guy had a t-shirt on advertising an AK-47 weapon.
Ironically, at the table about 10 feet from him were three young men (boys), one of which had a religious t-shirt on. What a world we live in!
At many car shows and events I go to there are numerous Ford and Chevrolet T-shirts. Usually, there is a large amount of “discussing” which makes it better. However, if one of the guys has trouble with his car or truck, everyone there will offer to help. Either by loaning tools, offering a ride or making helpful suggestions. I am disappointed that our National Leaders and Legislators result to name calling, lying and making false allegations (mudslinging). I am still proud of a lot of young people that don’t do that sort of thing. We live in a wonderful area that makes me proud of our leaders, teachers, law enforcement, etc. At our church, we all seem to be basically of the same opinion on issues. Occasionally, we disagree but proudly, we reach a compromise in many situations.
On another note, our two biggest and best shows are coming up. Fall Carlisle and Fall Hershey. Usually, there are at least 200,000 people attending Hershey and quite a few of those people are from other countries. I always get amused at some of the ways we have to communicate to understand each other.
One year, we had a cold rain and across from us were 2 French enthusiasts staying in a pup tent. We motioned for them to join us for supper and a dry place in our trailer. Now, when they come over, we always see them, but only their smiles and laughter is the way we communicate. The next Spring, one of the guys brought his wife and 7-year-old daughter. They asked in broken English if their daughter could stay with us while they saw the show. Within about 10 minutes, their daughter and our son were playing together and looked like they knew each other without talking. We thought they may be back after about an hour or so, but instead it was about 6 hours!
After about 25 years, they still occasionally come over from France to see the show and to visit with us. What a life!
Jack P. Wenger
