the jimmymac attack!

Everywhere things are done differently. It makes the world interesting and exciting. What is normal in one place is not normal somewhere else. I come from Toronto, Canada and things are done differently there from Taipei, Taiwan. For example in Toronto the police will put on their sirens and flashing red lights when they are chasing someone or stop a vehicle on the side of the road. So for me this is normal. In Taipei the police drive around all the time with their flashing red lights on. I do not know why. It does not make sense. It is very much like the boy crying wolf. What do they do when there is a real emergency? What do they do? One day I saw a car go by obviously speeding on a city street. Behind it was a police car which was obviously chasing the speeder. And the police car had his flashing red lights off. So this is normal in Taipei. The complete opposite of Toronto. I do not know why or understand it. Is it madness?

Then there are the garbage trucks. Big dirty, smelly trucks like in most places. What is the difference? In Taipei they play music. The trucks go around playing music like a good humor ice cream truck in America. In America kids would be running out for ice cream. In Taipei it is the signal to bring out your garbage. They play tunes like edelweiss as they make their way along the street. In a way it is brilliant. People bring out their garbage and throw it in the back of the trucks. It's brilliant.

And finally the buses. I ride the buses often. They run very frequently and are a good way to get around. On the other hand many are past their prime. Yesterday I sat down and the seat almost tipped over. It was missing a vital bolt required to hold it down. There's always something shaking and rattling on the buses. And the drivers are often very wild. Some will drive not just like a car but even like a motorcycle driver. It's not unusual for a bus driver to weave in and out of traffic. Within one block they will go from the curb lane to the passing lane and cross three lanes to go back to the curb lane. It's madness.