<p>I will say, when I was in my first full-time job, every morning I’d get catcalls and looks from the construction workers building a building next to my workplace. Then, one afternoon the place was surrounded by emergency vehicles and news folks. Turns out a construction worker had been smoking as he stirred glue. Kaboom. All his skin was gone and he was raw meat. Not sure if they were able to save him. And, I’ll likely go to hell for it, but my response: “Good.”</p>
<p>soccerguy, what’s funny about your list is that the cities that aren’t listed…the ones that don’t have much public transportation (or women aren’t generally using it), including third world countries, would probably be the worst as far as harassment. And of course, your list just includes the largest cities. But it’s really not funny, it’s sad. We’re talking about harassment, and it is nothing here like it is in many other places.</p>
<p>Okay, dyiu13, that video was really funny.</p>
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<p>I met with a woman this week who is helping me select some fabric and window treatments - she’s the decorator at a paint store. I happened to mention to her that I drove out to LA over Labor Day weekend by myself, and she said, “Your husband let you do that?” </p>
<p>As soon as this project is over, I’m looking for a new decorator. I was quite insulted.</p>
<p>Id like to see a real video of a man walking around NYC.</p>
<p>Also a video of someone with a walker or a wheelchair.</p>
<p>I’m not sure I’d be insulted–probably more pitying that she doesn’t appear to have much/any autonomy or say in her relationships with men. </p>
<p>My sibs are frankly surprised by what my H “lets” me do and supports me in. Several of them have marriages that do not give the wives much autonomy or anything like an equal say in family or personal decisions. </p>
<p>Teri, when I was in college I remember taking the Greyhound bus down to see my family on one of the breaks. My family did not live in LA, but I was being picked up at the LA Greyhound station. My father, who was raised in New York, was the one who came to pick me up, and he was all business. No smile on his face, walking with purpose, getting me out to the car as quickly as possible. It was just a little economy car, and even so as we were walking out toward it there were guys at three of the wheels trying to remove hubcaps who scurried off. Maybe give your decorator a break. She might have been thinking in terms of your husband wanting to protect you as opposed to owning you.</p>
<p>On the face of it, it sounds like an odd comment. But if you dig more, you might find it more a reflective situation of her life, not her impression of yours.</p>
<p>I can think of a time that I might say that wistfully to someone, back when my kids were young, and there was no way I was able to go anywhere for more than a couple of hours by myself, except for work. I can see my mom saying that sadly to someone, as all of her time is now taken up by taking care of my dad. And we are two incredibly independent women. I’m just saying, before you get angry, understand the context. It may be because of her life, not what she thinks of yours.</p>
<p>Well, I had to take into context that, while you’re in her part of the store, she has on the radio program of one of the biggest bigots in American radio. So I’m pretty sure she was thinking H should have the final say on whether I went or not. I can understand some dads being protective, because that’s what dads do, but H knows me well enough to know that I won’t take risks that are imprudent. Which reminds me, there was a thread where another CC mom was going to drive a car out to CA for her son, from somewhere around OH or PA. Gotta go look that one up and bump it up.</p>
<p>Was supposed to meet with her today between noon and 1:30PM. Got there and found out she had an ‘emergency’ at a restaurant and was there helping them pick out colors. Who has a paint emergency?? So I’m going back tomorrow, and if that radio program is on, I’m going to request she turn it off, or I will go elsewhere for my business.</p>
<p>Hilarious, a paint emergency!</p>
<p>But now I understand, it’s more of being offended by whom she is listening to, than one comment. I can’t think of anyone that I would fire based on them listening to any particular radio show, but then again, I haven’t listened to the whole spectrum. Plus my extended family ranges from ultra liberal to ultra conservative, so I just try to avoid talking politics. Especially when people are drunk! Someone with customers should know better than to put on controversial programs in their store. That’s bad judgment right there.</p>
<p>OMG, I’m having a paint emergency right now, whom should I call???</p>
<p>I would ask her to turn off the radio, as you find it distracting from your appointment and interfering with your creative mood, which Sounds true from your description. </p>
<p>Ghostbusters! Wait, wrong thread. ;)</p>
<p>Gotta say, radio stations don’t determine crime statistics. I am from SoCal, and I do think of LA as big city and a place where you need to be paying attention to what parts of town you’re in and be aware of matters related to safety.</p>
<p>Oops, I meant a wine emergency. I’m out of the good stuff, and only the cheap stuff is left. Whatever will I do? 
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<p>The most cat calls I ever got was in my young life while working at the VA hospital and walking past the urology waiting room line that used to go all the way to the outside. I wore a skirt down to my ankles and a very long big white coat. I am not sure what that says more about- me or the guys! </p>
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<p>Exactly! Almost every other business place I visit, they either choose a neutral radio program (usually music), or they have nothing at all. I think it’s pretty presumptuous to play something that’s controversial, no matter whether it’s liberal or conservative. It says you don’t really care if you offend your customers or not.</p>
<p>Yes, a paint emergency! Can’t wait to see how she explains that one tomorrow, because I know she will bring it back up and come up with all kinds of excuses.</p>
<p>Another quick story (sorry to go off track here, but this lady is driving me crazy) - I dropped in one Saturday afternoon a couple of weeks ago to drop off some fabric samples - H and were on our way (busdriver, you’ll appreciate this) to a private flight lesson I had gotten him for his birthday. As I walked in, she was sitting at a table with another woman looking at some fabrics and wallpaper books. As I came in, she says to the other lady, “Yes, here’s one of my appointments that I mentioned I’d had to take care of today and why I wouldn’t be able to give you the time you want. Hello appointment, let’s go in the back room here and discuss your choices.” And she led me to the back room where the fabric books were hanging. Huh?? Appointment?? She had no idea I was going to drop in to drop off these samples. And I sure as heck was going to stick around so she’d have a reason to get rid of some customer she didn’t want to have to deal with. I detest being put in a position of being someone’s alibi. So there were multiple reasons I want to fire her, but I’m in the middle of this project with her, and the window treatments are on sale, so I will do my business and never go back. </p>
<p>Can see why you want to keep your relationship with this woman as short and distant as possible!</p>
<p>In big cities, there are certainly “safer” and “more dangerous” areas for people, especially at night. With some exception, US intercity bus stations, sadly tend to be in “bad” areas from what we’ve moticed in our US travels. </p>
<p>This is a great pity and makes it tougher to freely and safely travel around our country by bus. </p>
<p>Very cool that you gave your husband a flight lesson. I hope he enjoyed it! However, I hope he didn’t get hooked. Private flying ends up being expensive (if he gets sucked into buying an airplane), and dangerous. Single engine airplanes crash all the time. I don’t think I would ever fly them, at least not very often. I know a number of skilled, competent pilots who have died in single engine airplane crashes, people with several thousand hours. It depresses me. But every now and then, what the heck!</p>
<p>She sounds like a BSer and a bit of a nutcase. I would surely ditch her too, but yeah, how do you get rid of her in the middle of a project? Yuck! I hate it when people are dishonest.</p>
<p>So it was a Groupon deal I got. $99 for an hour on the ground lesson, and an hour in the air. For an extra $99, I was able to go up with them, and the guy took us from the western suburbs past Midway airport, then toward Lake Michigan turning north before getting downtown, up to Wrigley Field, over to the Lake, back down Lake Michigan to about Soldier Field, where we headed back west toward the airport. </p>
<p>A couple of times in his life, H has made comments about wishing he knew more about flying, so that’s why I did it. But yea, I have no desire for him to make this a hobby! </p>
<p>That is an incredible deal! Really, amazing. I hope you guys had a great time. Glad it didn’t go out of ORD, that is probably my least favorite airport. What a mess.</p>
<p>And I’m glad you’re not supportive of a expensive and dangerous hobby. I think people just don’t realize, and it grieves me to think of the people that I know who have been lost. 
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<p>I’m still reading on page 12 so maybe this has been addressed already but it is a “tradition” for the fraternity members at one of our state Universities to hang out on their porches and survey and rate the incoming freshman sorority rush class. Maybe they thought this up themselves and it is unique to our little corner but I doubt it. I haven’t looked up the racial mix, but it is majority white by a large margin. That doesn’t seem qualitatively different to me. </p>