Gluten-Free Shivering Zombies

After three years away, we've been back in the U.S. a month and I have noticed a few changes.  Sure, fashion is different (Are folks really wearing those 80's styles I sported in high school?)  Of course, technology is unbelievable (Does everyone have a smartphone?)  As expected, more and more stores are popping up in places that used to be fields.  (How many Wal-Marts can you put in a 10-mile radius?)

A few things have caught me off guard, though.

1. What's missing has become more important than what's included.  Those same packages that used to boast of vitamins, fiber, or nutrients now announce that the product inside is free of gluten, free of nuts, free of dairy.  Kinda reminds me of my early Christian life, when the focus was on all the things I couldn't do instead of how full my life was.

Zombies, Run! is an app taking advantage of the zombie obsession to get folks picking up the pace.

2.  People really do think zombies are coming.  Okay, maybe not zombies, but there's a general nervousness in the air alluding to some epic disaster.  I remember the Y2K craze and still giggle to think of a family member diligently stocking her shed and then focusing on storing up those things she'd miss the most--hairspray and Coke.  I haven't figured out if those who are into what they're now calling prepping are really taking this zombie thing seriously, or if economic woes and rumors of war are just leading folks to an overall feeling of instability.  I want to hang out signs with catchy slogans like BUILD BUDDIES, NOT BUNKERS. (You can quote me on that.)  But seriously, I would like to take a few thousand folks down to rural Paraguay and show them how survival leads to depending on your neighbor and building a sense of community, rather than this every-man-for-himself mentality.

3.  The U.S. is handicapped accessible.  Woo hoo!  I'm not needing it as much as I used to, but it sure is nice to reach out for that handrail and find it stably attached to the wall.

4.  Toilet paper can be flushed.  You'd think I would be remembering that by now, but after a few weeks of fishing it out of the trashcan to properly flush it, I still can't get out of the habit.

5.  It's freezing here.  Sure, we're in the heat of summer, but houses are running air conditioning.  Cars are running air conditioning.  Churches are running air conditioning.  Stores are running air conditioning.  I find myself wearing long pants and jackets everywhere we go because I can't escape these 72-degree environments!  Brrrrr!  I have to admit that climate control is rivaling the health and beauty aids aisle on my list of favorite things these days, despite my whining over long sleeves.  ;)