Today Ohio is a four-letter word

DISCLAIMER: I didn't eat a healthy breakfast.

I don't know if it's my bubble-wrapped sensibilities, an actual epidemic, or just plain bad luck, but I seem to run into less-than-awesomeness on a regular basis since I came to this state of Ohio. The following represents only a small percentage of experiences that have taken me by surprise since I began to venture out into the world post-twin-partum. I invited some neighbors to the party for Zach, and the ones on either side and behind me barely opened their doors wide enough to pull the paper through- dogs barking, smoke swirling, TV's blaring in the smelly scenes behind them. I've heard from the two decent people I've met here, that it's just "this neighborhood." No one waves back. Except for the dude that rides the reclining bicycle with four wheels. He waved back once. On purpose, I think.

What I've been more appalled by are experiences I've had (and haven't had) with people on the job. My smiles are met with either blank stares, winces, or averted gazes. My friendly attempts at small talk receive incoherent grunts or silence. I walked into numerous clothing stores in the weeks before our trip to Utah, and watched the employees avoiding customers. I'd chalk it up to the drudgery of blue-collar poverty, but doctors and nurses- professionals... abrupt to the verge of rude. Maybe it's the huge hairy wart on the tip of my running nose. Maybe we're living the real-life CareBear episode of that gray city where no one cared... shudder...

I never treated anyone like this- not when I was working as a no-name at ShopKo, Albertson's and Big-B's. Not when I was working as a professional at the photography studios. And I never ran into so much of this in Utah. I don't know. Maybe I'm just running into a lot of bad examples. I'm probably just homesick lately.

I would say I'm only finding what I'm looking for, except that I've been holed up for so long, when I leave the house now, I'm excited and searching for some friendly contact with anyone and everyone! Macy's was a nice exception. They've got some incentive program for customer-service going on right now, so everyone was super friendly. I took the survey and put in a good word for the lady who rang me up- just like she asked.

Jack Johnson says it best. "Where'd all the good people go?" Ohioans who know..please share.

I promise my next blog about Ohio will be about all the good things I've noticed. Just wait till I've had my Wheaties. (and enough good Ohio experiences to fill an entire paragraph k I'm shutting up now.)