When you buy products that are deemed sensitive, such as condoms or tampons or hemorrhoid cream or whatever it may be, they also put that in a paper bag instead of the regular bag so that no one can see what it is.

Of course, I found this to be counterproductive because that means you know that person is carrying something “sensitive”.

That’s how it is here in Seattle, too. Poor people ride the light rail, well-off people ride the light rail. If the service is good, everybody will use it.

Buses have not quite met that standard yet.

That sounds like other people would probably find it either delightful or obnoxious with little in between.

My father from the greater New York area still refuses to ride our local light rail here in Seattle because he doesn’t understand that it’s actually a really low key experience, with clean, safe, fairly quiet cars (for the most part), and relatively efficient service at low prices and all that. He thinks it’s all like the New York Subway or NJ Transit.

He’s going on that light rail next time he’s here.

+1 for excellent storytelling

This is going to get so much, unspeakably worse if Trump wins the next election and succeeds in his plans to forcibly deport millions of people. Of course the law enforcement agencies will “have to” check anyone who looks like they might be an illegal migrant, based on their ethnicity. Ruining the lives of not only the migrants, but countless American citizens as well.

That’s so sweet. What a lovely lady. And good on you for indulging her!

One thing I noticed when I first moved to Japan:

When you buy a new book (they don’t do this at used book stores), they wrap it in paper. Kind of like we did with our textbooks with paper bags back when I was a kid in school in the US. But they use nicer paper.

This means that when you take your book out, nobody can see what it is. Unless you remove the paper.

In the past, Iran has seized commercial vessels to use as bargaining chips with the West.

And terrorism!