This meme about America resonated

If you read my stories, you’d know that I often express my appreciation for America — a rare phenomenon these days.

But of course, I’m aware of America’s many problems, in politics and everyday life.

Earlier this week my friend shared on his social media someone’s else meme or post and said “True that”

True that indeed.

I first came to the US in 1994, as a teenager. I spent my summer in Kansas, and then a year in Oklahoma. Already in Kansas, I observed that public transit was a pretty exotic experience. My host family gave me a bike, and even though it was pretty old, it worked just fine and every morning I rode it to a bus stop, a couple of miles away from the house. Then there was a long ride to my language school downtown. I didn’t have a bike in Moscow, because biking in the city wasn’t common. But I was very used to public transportation. A bus ride in Wichita was, however, nothing like a tram or bus ride in Moscow. At home, trams, buses, and trolleybuses were used by all, every day. In America, in Wichita anyway, being without a car was a sure way to join the ranks of the socially excluded. I don't want to appear racist or insensitive but my companions on the bus were all people of color, often obese, badly dressed, or looking suspicious. There were white folks too. One of them was scary. He spoke to…