Politeness.

There are many unique characteristics of our little town, Truro. Lynn and I are discovering them more and more as we become accustomed to the culture and traditions here. Though I would love to tell you about the many unique tree sculptures, or the interesting history and religious traditions of the town, I will save those for another day. Today, I'm going to talk about "politeness".

What is politeness? It refers to the mannerly behaviors of a community, in healthy relation to one another. Though my perspective is limited, I have observed this to be a very high value in the town of Truro. Being historically part of a "Bible Belt" area, it has strong roots in religious traditions (there I go talking about it...). Over the years, however, as our pagan nation has grown and developed, the town has evolved in its pagan culture. Thus, we live in a pagan community rooted in religious values and traditions. The result is politeness.

Here is an example of the complex pagan/religious culture of Truro:
Driving along, one will undoubtedly come to a four-way stop intersection. These are very common in Truro. Often, when coming upon these intersections, one will encounter some other Truronian in opposing root. Being a very polite community, whoever arrives to a complete stop first, graciously waves the other to go ahead first as if to say, "No, please, go ahead." The other, however, will respond likewise, "No please, you go ahead." After several of these interchanges, eventually one does move forward.

These exchanges are quite common, and frankly, irritating when traveling through town. Lynn and I have often thought, "This is getting dangerous!" The other day, I arrived to a complete stop at one of these four way intersections at (what appeared to me to be) the same time as three other cars, each at another stop. No one moved ahead right away, so I thought, "Okay, I'll go." I moved forward into my left turn (blinker clearly on!), when the car opposite me began moving straight ahead (as in directly i to me). I stopped and nodded apologietically while the other moved on through. I then continued my turn only to find that the car I was coming up alongside at my left was giving me "the finger" and swearing at me! I thought, "This is absurd!"

The poor man in the car is NOT an accurate reflection of our friendly fellow Truronians. However, it seemed so ironic to me. Somehow, the value of politeness in town was not upheld by me moving ahead first. Then, however, it was appropriate to cuss? ...interesting.

So what do you think of politeness?

(Natasha)