Close Reading

I've traveled and worked in many parts of the USA. In most cases, I've found people to be more friendly, helpful and outgoing than Canadians because we tend to be more reserved.\n\nThe exceptions are when Americans feel afraid or threatened for some reason. Then things get really scary very quickly. The gun culture is one reason for this. At a coffee break in Houston my coworkers started talking about guns because one of them had been held up at gunpoint. His car was in the shop to repair a bullet hole in his front fender. This triggered talk about where people kept their guns at home, in their cars and on their persons. A small pile of 3 handguns ended up on the table while we talked, two of them from women's purses. All but one of the people had never used their guns except at a shooting range. The exception blew out a neighbor's over-loud outdoor speakers with a shotgun. He felt this was justified because he paid his shocked neighbor double the destroyed equipment's value in cash. Most of the Texans didn't agree with him but understood his rationale.\n\nI can handle a rifle and shotgun. Many Canadians hunt, but I can't think of a place in Canada where I could have had this conversation.