tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post6484383136493707449..comments2023-09-11T08:58:24.710-06:00Comments on Reach Upward: Lost OpportunitiesScott Hinrichshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831447472339880148noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-81753875781888243952008-11-10T10:38:00.000-07:002008-11-10T10:38:00.000-07:00y-intercept,I don't know where you came from befor...y-intercept,<BR/><BR/>I don't know where you came from before you got to Utah, but my experience would seem to corroborate what Scott suggested about regionalism. I think there is a lot we can do to be more open and sociable in Utah - I have no intention of excusing us on that issue, but some places are even less inviting while many areas in the south and the midwest are just much more open in the way people interact with each other. Expectations definitely go along way in coloring the perceptions of a new culture when we move.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-29707509805712830682008-11-10T08:21:00.000-07:002008-11-10T08:21:00.000-07:00Actually, Jake's parents are both native to this a...Actually, Jake's parents are both native to this area. One is a member of the predominant religion and the other descends from people that were.<BR/><BR/>Our neighborhood is constantly filled with kids wandering around. It's one of the things that has kept us here for 20 years. For years we have had a constant parade of our kids' friends and acquaintances wandering in and out of our home.<BR/><BR/>Jake is far from the only one whose parents occasionally imbibe around here. But I later discovered from overhearing a conversation between Jake and another boy that the liquored up adults drove Jake away from his own party that night.<BR/><BR/>I'm sorry for the hostilities you have encountered in Utah. I do not deny that such behaviors exist. But I wonder if they are regionalized or have much to do with experiences prior to coming here.<BR/><BR/>I have a friend (not LDS) from New Jersey that put in for a job in this area kind of on a whim. To his surprise, he got the job and moved his family out here. Unlike the Southern gal you mentioned, my friend found an openness in northern Utah that he had never experienced in NJ and PA, where he had lived.<BR/><BR/>He said that where he was from, almost every interaction with other people was a confrontation and that everyone had was constantly in battle mode. Just going through a grocery checkout line was a harsh experience, he said. He was amazed at how friendly workers at grocery stores around here were. I must admit that I found his description odd, but then, I've never lived in NJ.<BR/><BR/>My friend was amazed that people in his neighborhood would smile and wave, even though, he hardly knew them. His kids had no problems developing new friendships after moving here.<BR/><BR/>It's interesting that different people can come here and have such diverse experiences with and opinions of the 'natives.'Scott Hinrichshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11831447472339880148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-90184732311104816362008-11-08T21:31:00.000-07:002008-11-08T21:31:00.000-07:00I used to wander around aimlessly and annoy adults...I used to wander around aimlessly and annoy adults.<BR/><BR/>Wait a second, I am wandering around aimlessly in cyberspace annoying people at this moment.<BR/><BR/>When my gentile family first moved to Salt Lake, I found the lack of other kids wandering around really spooky. I thought everyone all uptight and put offish. The second day we were here. I went off to find something to do. I walked a mile and a half before I found any kids. They punched me a couple of times. I walked home thinking it odd.<BR/><BR/>It was summer. School was out. Streets are supposed to be filled with kids wandering around. I had to walk almost two miles to find kids and they punched me.<BR/><BR/>About a month after moving to Salt Lake, I remember having a crying fit by a telephone pole. I couldn't take the inhospitality of the region any longer.<BR/><BR/>A few years ago, I was standing in line to get some slop from a fast food joint. A young lady from the South started weeping when the person at the counter handed her the bag full of fast food slop.<BR/><BR/>I talked to the Southern Belle and her mother to find out what was wrong. They had relocated from a place in the South where people spent a lot more time practicing hospitality with strangers than they do in these here parts.<BR/><BR/>She found Utahans to be closed in and stand-offish.<BR/><BR/>I am saying this because I suspect that your story had nothing to do with alcohol. I suspect that the kid was from a place where wandering around talking to people was part of childhood.<BR/><BR/>It is in part modern society. We are all scared of each other. Kids aren't allowed to talk to strange adults. <BR/><BR/>To me this is terrible. The American experience used to be a thing where kids spent most of their time wandering around like the kid you described.y-intercepthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03389285761013186443noreply@blogger.com