Groups, I thought you all might like the chance to see what some people think about the big little city of Louisville, KY. Richard writes a column for the CJ here in Louisville. I am also enclosing my email to Richard on the Local flavor. Do try the web site! Jack Dole, that Colorado gypsy in Looavil - --------------------------------------------------------- http://www.courier-journal.com/cjextra/columns/desruisseaux/comments/ RICHARD DES RUISSEAUX Back to Des Ruisseaux | Local News | The Courier-Journal Des Ruisseaux asked: What's your take on Louisville? Too dowdy, too dull, just right? Do we have delusions of grandeur or mediocrity? How do we stack up with where you used to live? What do you like, what do you not? Do we need to change? If so, how? And now . . . Readers write back Jack and Nan Dole Eastern Jefferson County JDole5633@aol.com We have read your latest columns with some amusement. Actually we get a kick out of them. We find the local indigenous people very friendly and somewhat quaint. Since 1971 we have lived in some 30 different locals, including Central and South America. (It is somewhat difficult to stay ahead of the law.) Since we have a large database to compare individual locals and individuals in locals, the observations do have some merit. It is not often that one has the opportunity to have the entire staff of a fast-food restaurant wait on them. I was standing very alone at the order counter in a fast food joint on Fern Valley Road. The cook soon leaned out the pass-through window and said, "Hey, boss, what you want? I'll fix it for ya." Now, you don't find that kind of service everywhere. One could say the folks in the Louisville area have some unique customs. The red octagonal sign that appears on the corner of some street intersections has the letters STOP, which here means "slightly tap on pedal." It has been also observed that it means "sometimes tap on pedal." We quickly learned that the traffic lights in Louisville only have one color, bright green and two other shades of green. At the intersection of Oxmoor Lane and Shelbyville Road, the first car in line has two options when his/her light turns to the bright shade of green: turn up the radio so the honking does not bother you or take a trip to the body shop and the emergency room. Freeway driving is really quite entertaining. You always have the opportunity to practice your defensive driving. One of key tricks is to look the driver beside you in eye to get the feel of the situation, does he really want the same position on the road that you are in? "Safe assured distance" for the car in front of you is sometimes defined as, "Can I read the expiration date on the plate?" Lane-changing in the area is very simple and only has a few rules. Unless you have recently greased both bumpers, the space required between two cars, is your car's length plus about two feet. The second rule is not to give any indication of the pending lane change; don't let the eyes give it away. Do not, under any circumstances, glide into the lane change, just crank the wheel as fast as you can. For those other Newbies moving into Louisville, two businesses that will not make it in this area is "driver safety training" and selling replacement turn-signal bulbs. (Somebody's got to get this guy a newspaper column of his own or a Web page or something. Or maybe I'll just hire him as a ghostwriter. RDR) Since we both truly enjoy the Louisville area, we are looking forward to next week's column. We will be able to add to our understanding of how not to drive like a foreigner. (Actually, there were so many interesting comments about everyday life in Louisville that the column on driving tips has been slow-forwarded until Aug. 30 .RDR.) We are also very interested in where all of the "G's" are kept, since none are used on the end of a word. Are they sold or saved for the commodities market? - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --