We are living a totally different life to those in the USA

Cliff Saunders

Dogs in Salt Lake City/USA are kept there purely for decorative purposes – and having few burglars to pursue they are confined to chasing the odd cat. That is why Callisto is concentrating so hard on the cat book that I am reading to her because it’s only recently that she graduated from tail-chasing to cat-chasing and she’s intent on closely studying those felines.

It was during a recent two-month visit to my brother and family who live in a middle class suburb of Salt Lake City that I began to fully realise “hey, in many ways these people (and their dogs) are living a totally different life to that which confronts us in SA!”

A day after we arrived there, Dave, a Togolese from across the road, brought some special home-made soup as a welcoming gift. After he had left, I realised that he had simply walked to us, knocked on the door, and was let in. I looked down the road and sure enough: hardly a single house had a front fence.

I said to my brother Peter: “Heavens boet, that was an easy and safe delivery! Back home if Dave had wanted to bring me some soup, he would first have had to find his ‘clicker’ to open the security gate. Then he would have to ensure that his vicious dogs don’t follow him out into the road. Then he’d ring the bell so I can open my security gate for him to get in.

I’d have to ensure that my vicious dogs do not escape -- or decide to bite him! If both he and I failed to keep our dogs in there’d be a major dogfight in progress in the road and we’d have had to rush out to separate them While that furore raged, armed burglars could have arrived and slipped into our premises to await our return from separating the dogs.”

Far fetched? Not really…..
I do not know if it’s result of the strong Mormon influence in Utah, but people there are so darned friendly and communicative. Trips on the busses or trams invariably result in chats with nearby passengers – with the bus driver often chipping in with his own words of wisdom and wit. One can safely go for long walks in the streets at night.
Fact us, as I wrote to the Salt Lake City Tribune: “Your newspapers are so excruciatingly boring compared with ours!”

SA has a vibrant energy reflecting the good, bad and the ugly. It’s addictive! We love the “excitement and challenges” of this land of diverse cultures – but only while the “bad and the ugly” do not affect us directly via murder, rape or even the consequences of road rage, corruption and chronic unemployment. Then things become complicated and major decisions have to be made that often lead to drastic changes.

Did I want to also live in Salt Lake City? Nelson Mandela has been quoted as saying: “Everybody comes back to where they were born.”
I agree. It’s good to be home again!