I had an experience last Jan/Feb while I was visiting my daughter in N.C. When they picked me up from the airport, both her kids had snotty noses and coughs. I thought, Oh Great! Well, after a week of chasing sick kids around, I got sick BIG time! I don't get sick too often but this was huge. I ended up in a clinic there, and the Nurse Practitioner even admitted the difference between the east and west coasts of the US.
She said the west coast is TOO clean and we're all germ-a-phobes. She called the east "The Dirty East". And because the east coast is far less concerned about germs, they're actually healthier people. They're used to germs and so their immune systems are stronger.
I didn't find any disinfectant wipes at the grocery stores for the shopping carts in the east. Nor did I find any toilet seat covers in Any public restroom. That's UNHEARD of here in the west. Those are just 2 examples.
As far as letting our kids/grandkids loose in a park, in smaller towns we don't worry too much about it. But in bigger cities, you just have to watch them like a hawk. Too many scumbags. I heard a report that 1 out of every 10 people is a sex offender/pedophile. So if you're in a crowd of people, a pedophile has already spotted your kid. Is that America's way of keeping us in fear? Or is it for real?
