… yes, I know.  You don’t give a rat’s butt about that.

Before coming to Ankara, we spent two beautiful warm years in Ethiopia; warm to hot summers and cool wet winters.  I could live there the remainder of my life.  Too many times in my life, I worked out in cold weather as well as oppressive heat, but now my tired old body says, enough.

Just got back from Adana in time to see the snow move into the city of Ankara.  Terese and I sat at one of the large windows in the apartment and watched the drivers imitating the Keystone Cops.  For those few youngsters who read this blog, click here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_Cops

As with any city in Europe, you find people who think they are experienced Formula One drivers.  These are the idiots who try to pass on a slippery hill and end up losing control.  We have yet to witness a wipeout, but I think it’s just a matter of time.  The Turks are not good drivers and deadly on snow and ice.  There is a steep hill I have to traverse to get to and from work.  I am told the dangerous part is not driving on it, but dealing with the Turks who drive on it.

In the States, when you speed past a police officer, you get pulled over or worse.  Creep through a stop sign and you will get a ticket.  Throwing trash out the window will yield a hefty fine, especially in Texas.  But in most European countries, speeding or running a stop sign is usually ignored, because there is no compensation for the officer to chase you down and stop you.  It’s not uncommon to drive down the wrong direction of a one-way street.  We see it all the time.  Trash goes flying out the window with no recourse.  From our apartment window, we see vehicles below, stop along the street next to a row of trees, open the doors and toss out all the trash like it’s a landfill.  Several times, we have seen a vehicle stop, and actually set a sack of garbage on the sidewalk and drive off!  Seriously!

We will get our vehicle this week and I will be a bit nervous driving at first, especially with all the Turks driving on snow and ice.  We survived Ethiopia with just a smashed mirror, and that was my doing.  We will see what happens in Turkey.