[AGL] Houston Retort

[Jon Ford]

Wayne J asserts: "I disagree with your comment about Austinites being the 
"most self-righteous human beings ever gathered in one place."   Surely most 
people would argue that Palo Alto, CA stands head and shoulders above the 
crowd in that respect.  Ask anyone who lives there.  One can have anything 
one wants in Palo Alto.....except possibly a long conversation with someone 
of...uh, "color".

Adding to the allure of Endearing & Everlasting Wealthy Whiteness are 
satellite towns like Menlo Park, Woodside, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and 
Mountain View.   If one has a "blue collar" in any of these towns, one 
either doesn't live there or else it has some silly "signature" just above 
the heart. "

Wayne is just as cuddly and lovable as ever-- However, I can't really agree 
that Palo Alto is the most full of "self-righteous human beings." And I 
don't think Austin is, either. Palo Alto may be the most full of 
over-achievers and software hustlers, but Berkeley ,California surely takes 
the cake for the most self-righteous (or maybe San Francisco, as Telebob 
suggested earlier). I lived in Berkeley for nearly 15 years, and kept to 
myself on a quiet street, but that place is self-righteous  to the nth 
degree.In contrast, Palo Alto is just a sleepy suburban town. It is lacking 
in people of color (if by that you mean African-Americans),but our 
population is pretty international , including many folks from India,Japan, 
China, Vietnam, Iran, Latin America,etc. We also have plenty of homeless 
people (I saw a bunch of them ordering vary complicated drinks at Starbucks 
only an hour ago).Our local schools are considerably more integrated than 
when Wayne lived here.

In the Southwest I have noticed that the races seem  pretty much  to keep to 
themselves even though they may live fairly close "as the bird flies." In my 
mother's neighborhood in North Austin, for instance, I have never seen a 
person of color on the streets or in the shopping areas, except for service 
personnel; of course, my experience is limited as I come to Austin very 
seldom. So maybe we should avoid stereotyping one another and stick to the 
verifible facts: Houston is a place of big mosquitos and muggy weather, but 
has a lot of museums;
Palo Alto and the surrounding area have great weather (except when it floods 
and houses wash off the hillsides), beach proximity, overly expensive homes, 
and excessive numbers of rich people. We also have great museums, like the 
Cantor up at Stanford, and wonderful cultural events almost every evening. 
I'd say it beats living in the sticks in rural Virginia where Wayne lives, 
or in most parts of Texas. Enuf said.

Jon