The View From Auburn, Alabama

My first morning in Auburn, Alabama and I forgot some local customs. When I saw the car driving directly towards me, I realised I was driving on the wrong side of the road. Thankfully, the expression on the face of the passenger in the other car was more shock and not so much anger. I sheepishly drove on. What could I say? She probably thought I was an irresponsible American rather than a jet lagged Australian tourist.

Americans surround me. It is like stepping into the television. I am now part of the show, live and unscripted. This is in fact real life. Everything is big in America, like a land of the giants: cars, stores, store signage, sleeve badges, washing machines, and people. The most popular ‘pick-up truck’ (ute) seems to be the Chevrolet Silverado. By Australian standards, this is a monster truck. Most of the utility vehicles are this size. Another popular ute is the Ford F-150. On a visit to Lowes, a big hardware store, the car park was full of these huge trucks. The popular van is the Ford E series.

My Cabin at the Crenshaw House Bed & Breakfast
My Cabin at the Crenshaw House Bed & Breakfast

Auburn is a lovely place, so many trees and wide expanses of green grass. The forests either side of the I-85 from Atlanta are very large and green. The people are lovely and get along very well. There appears to be so much capital: shopping centres, houses, roads, and cars. The cars all seem very new. Auburn has its own University with a football team and a stadium! When driving around, I saw many large accommodation buildings named with combinations of greek letters. At first, I thought it might be the headquarters for some sort of religious cult, but then I saw some university aged people with these greek letters on their t-shirts, showing that the buildings were in fact fraternity and sorority houses.

There are lots of commercials on TV for medication. I recall one for a sleeping tablet. The lady on the commercial couldn’t get to sleep worrying, “the electricity bill is due”, and “why did I commit to that engagement, who’s going to take care of the kids?”. The apparent solution to this is a sleeping tablet. Why not just cut back on expensive commitments and pay the electricity bill. Then you would have no worries and save on medication as well.

Goods and services are priced to the cent. For those interested, a quarter pounder at McDonalds is $2.59. Taxes are not included in the advertised price. A newspaper showing a price of 50 cents under the masthead ended up costing 54 cents. On the one hand I don’t like this as I don’t know what I am going to pay (and can’t get the change ready), but on the other hand it does make taxes more obvious. You really can feel the government taking it out of you every time you transact.

Here are some random things I have noticed so far. No ‘push’ or ‘pull’ signs on doors, I have to work it out for myself. Cars only have number plates on the back, not the front. Letterboxes are all located on the nature strip, are the same design, and have a red flag. Power points have no on/off switch, you plug your appliance into a live socket. Many houses have high pitch roofs with no guttering, and no fences between houses. Most banks are located in stand alone buildings and have drive-through service!

Exploring America is all fun but it would be good if there was someone here with me.

© Danny Haynes

- posted 31 July 05 in

Comments

  1. David G., 15 August 2005, 07:41:
    It is interesting how alien America can seem when we feel as though we know it so well through television.

    ...And, yes, I can imagine such experiences are better to share.

    How about the Mises Institute?
  2. Pete, 15 August 2005, 10:33:
    * Live power sockets? Yikes!
    * I’ve always been annoyed by those american prescription drug ads: “Do you get nervous when standing on the edge of a tall building? Then ask your doctor for DumX…”
    * Sounds like americans need another oil shock to get them over their petroleum addiction. Hasn’t anyone there heard of a corrolla?
  3. Tim Haynes, 17 August 2005, 18:42:
    Spot on Danny, nothing really beats being there and seeing it for yourself. After I went to America I noticed that alot of jokes I had heard from Bill Cosby, Jerry Seinfeld and others suddenly made sense. It’s ridiculous the Pick up truck. It’s not a ute, it is literally a truck. I bet most of them run on diesel and have to be filled with juice every couple of days. Nothing wrong with the Corolla as Pete mentioned. Perhaps you could start a campaign Danny.
  4. Neil, 17 August 2005, 19:30:
    No Diesel for American pick-ups, Tim. That wouldn’t give the hoons enough grunt off the line. Most of them will run 6-8 litre v8’s.
    Not surprising given they have some of the cheapest petrol in the world…
  5. Ben, 18 August 2005, 11:14:
    So, Danny, have you seen any gun shops yet?
  6. Danny Haynes, 18 August 2005, 12:36:
    Ben, I did spend some of my first weekend in Auburn, Alabama wandering around various shops but I didn’t see any gun shops or guns.
  7. Tim Haynes, 18 August 2005, 16:58:
    In some states of America you can buy guns at stores like K Mart. Some bank have an offer of, “Open an account with us and we’ll give you a free gun.”
  8. Ben, 19 August 2005, 13:17:
    Maybe Alabama is one of those states that isn’t hot on guns (but is hot on pick-up trucks).

    I don’t think I’d like to feel like the government is taking my money every time I transact. At least in Australia I can live in sweet ignorance.
  9. Jane, 21 August 2005, 14:00:
    Isn’t Auburn University where part of the Tim Burton movie ‘Big Fish’ was set?
  10. David G., 22 August 2005, 07:41:
    Ben?! GST!

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