Why didn't the chicken cross the road?

Seeing as how I am a good ol’ fashioned country boy who has roomed with Adam Van Atta for a series of years, I can say that I am just fine with America’s second amendment. China, who invented gun powder, only allows its citizens the right to bare arms (Keng fu style).  With 1.3 billion people roaming around, there isn’t much hunting space to be had or crimes that need to be prevented. It’s a marvel that such a populated country can have such a low crime rate. I was taught that population and crime have a correlation rate of about .99. I’ve speculated reasons for this, maybe it’s because there are no guns or that there are harsher punishments for crime. I think what it comes down to is the Chinese value honor. To commit a crime is to dishonor themselves, their family, and their country. The Chinese place much more value on their society than their individual selves.

The real danger in China is crossing the street. It is like playing a human game of Frogger where you are on your last life. No matter what a cross walk says, your only focus while crossing should be strength in numbers. The taxis here are incredibly cheap. In our town you can get to any place for a mere 80 cents. A motorcycle taxi is even cheaper, but you have to have a Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon kind of death wish mentality to hop aboard.

The other danger of living in China is becoming addicted to cigarettes. They are offered non-stop as signs of generous hospitality. China is probably the worst place in the world to go cold turkey (also because they don’t have turkey.) Though possibly the most serious danger is gambling.

Oscar Wilde once wrote, “Why do all men kill the things they love?”  I inversely wonder, “Why do I love the things that kill me?”  such as the sight of an oil rainbow mixed in a puddle, the taste of a bacon cheeseburger, the smell of Big Sky Brewery, or the sound of Mahjong tiles being clanked together. Recently in China gambling on Mahjong has become somewhat of an epidemic. Mahjong tables are occupied at all hours of the day and hundreds of dollars can exchange hands depending on how a round is won or lost. The game is a home-wrecker, but wow is it fun and arguably worth it.