Linguistics

Dinner last night was entertaining as I was at a table with a guy from Belgium, Scotland, Tennessee, Alaska and New Jersey. Listening to the different accents was in itself awesome. The blending of cultures here is pretty cool. I like to people watch, and that has been taken to a new level listening to people talk. From back woods Alabama to the Queen’s English to the difference between Suffolk County (New York) and Elizabeth, New Jersey, it sounds cool. The Detroit guys talk different than the Illinois guys, but much like the Cleveland peeps. The Texas boys are different than those from Oklahoma. The Maine guy is different than the Massachusetts and Connecticut guys. Then there's the Philly guys. I can't leave out the West Virginia and Southern Virginia guys. Throw in the Tennessee talk as well. The Carolina guys have their own language. The Minnesota and Wisconsin guys do say"eh". I can’t even get into the International dialects.

From Nebraska west to the Pacific Coast there doesn't seem to be much of a twang. Boring

About 100+ of us attended a weekend training in Philadelphia put on by the members of our class from PPD. There was a great session on explosives and tactical response. Philly is a big city with a lot of crime, and how they respond and deal with it is crucial. It surprised me how much of a slum Philly is outside of downtown. Those cops have a lot to deal with on their plates. The Real Time Crime Center appears state of the art in the making. A tour of the Citizens National Bank Ballpark and the sports complex where the Phillies, Eagles and Flyers play reinforced how crucial crowd management needs to be at high profile sporting events. I don't think you really can understand until you experience the complete behind the scenes tour.  Philadelphia Police were outstanding hosts. I cannot say enough on how well we were treated. Thanks Tom and Ray!!

As for the bus driver of bus #2, he needs a new job that doesn’t involve driving and the bus needs new brakes.