It ain't nothing but a dirt road

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Okay, I’ve lived in the south several years now and still can’t speak southern. I’m fine with that and have come to accept the fact everyone and their mother will ask me where I’m from. It’s all good. Thus the other day when I got stopped in the grocery store by a stranger who wanted to know where I’m from, no biggie. I let him know, and then made sure to tell him I’ve made this part of the world my home for several years now and, as far as I’m concerned, the move is permanent. However, his reaction was a new one for me. He proceeded to tell me about the one time he went to Texas. And ended up driving something like 10 miles on a dirt road. He lamented how his car never was the same after that. Apparently, he could never get the grit out of the upholstery, the engine always ran rough, plus he needed new tires after the experience. Thus, there was no way he was ever going to go to my original state because he’d heard it was nothing but dirt roads for mile after endless mile. Yikes. He didn’t even know the half of it. I’ve been on the Alaska highway and the Top of the World highway in Canada – way worse than anything my home state can throw at ya. Which left me wondering more than a few things. Are there no dirt roads in my new state? How bad are this guy’s driving skills? Did he leave the windows down? Yeah, I could go on but I think many of you will get the idea of where my mind was going. I tried to be polite and not tell him to his face what an idiot he was. But I was left with one very big question. How much of life had this guy missed out on because he seemed to never want to leave the town we were in? After all, lets face facts here, life is one giant bump after another. There is no such thing as smooth sailing in perfect conditions. So many things to do and so many ways things can go wrong. You’ve got to take the good with the bad to get to the other side. So grab every experience with gusto, don’t complain about it afterwards. It makes you stronger in the end, or maybe just a little bit dusty…

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