Merry Old England

America is going to Hell in a hand basket. Silly as that sounds, since of course it would never fit, my husband says that all the time. And judging from the daily news, he is correct. 

Sign on a street in England for public restrooms.

Returning home after only 12 days in Great Britain, it hit me hard how screwed up things are here. As of August 31 there have been 309 mass shootings in the United States, resulting in 302 deaths and 1,354 injuries. And that's not even counting Charlie Kirk's assassination just three weeks ago, and the more recent shootings in Michigan, Texas and North Carolina.

It's not called "Merry Old England" for nothing -- I was noticeably happier there every day. Okay, sure, I was on vacation -- but since I don't have a steady job, that's of little relevance. What matters more is that their citizens appeared to be happier too, with punctuality and politeness seemingly built into their DNA. Plus they have only two genders, which makes life so much easier. (See photo.) 

Maybe it's all the coffee we drink, while they prefer a quiet cup of tea. In fact, the only negative during my British holiday was the inability to find a decent cup of coffee. But I'd give that up for feeling safe when I leave my home. As things are now, even a quick trip to the grocery store is cause for worry, which by the way does actually work: I recently read that 95% of the things we worry about never happen.