Last Tuesday, David and I were eating our dinner at McChipotle (for the second week in a row).

As I looked around, I realized what a safe little happy world our immediate little Far, Far, Far North Dallas environment is.

The restaurant was full of happy people. The employees were laughing and joking with the customers. A group of what looked to be several families was eating together at a large round table. Four young men of varying ethnicities who appeared to be in their late teens ate quietly with nice manners. A group of State Troopers arrived and ordered their dinners.

Afterwards, David and I wandered over to the new World Market, where we ran into LD's 4th grade teacher, and we all chatted for a while.

Everyone just seems to be at ease.

What a difference from "the big city", where I grew up!

Whenever we go to LD's elementary school and see 40+ bikes in the bike rack, most without locks, I always chuckle to myself and think, "Where I grew up, if it wasn't chained down (and sometimes if it was), it would be gone in a heartbeat.

When I lived in "L.A.", my car was broken into in the garage, twice. I was robbed at gunpoint at work. My brother walked into a robbery at a McDonalds. Our house was burglarized when I was a little kid, so I learned what insurance was when I was about six.

For years I carried my keys on a keychain that I found on my car after police officers arrested a fleeing suspect on the trunk of my car in our driveway. I still carry the handy little Craftsman keychain screwdriver from those keys on my current keychain!

We used to hear the L.A. County Sheriff's Department helicopters circling all the time. If they were close, and we were lucky, we could get them to shine the huge light on us if we ran down the street while they were looking for someone.

I guess what I am getting at is that I've always had to watch my back, and now I don't feel quite the same.

I can't even recall the last time I saw any bullet-proof glass.

I could go on, but I'll save some for later.