It's nice, and a little unbelievable.

    Life in Victoriaville is vastly different in some ways than in life in northern Virginia.  In some ways it feels like the way it was "in the good old days".  Except for grocery stores, the stores all close daily at 5 or 6 p.m., including those in the mall.  The mall, and other businesses, (except grocery stores)  are all closed on Sunday, and the grocery stores are closed by about 5 on Sunday.  There is a definite tranquility in the downtown area on Sundays, and although many people go on walks around the lake or on the numerous paths (which wind through the town) and do not go to a church service, Sunday feels like a day of rest.  Here is another example which just seemed incredible to us. Last Wednesday afternoon we took our car to have new tires put on and a block heater installed.  Block heaters, for those of you who live where the temperature never dips below 0 degrees fahrenheit, are devices which keep the engine warm enough to prevent freezing.  Every parking space in apartment buildings and homes has an outlet attached to a board, in plain view, which one uses to plug in the block heater. Here is what they look like:

 
   And just so you know what we are in for as far as winter is concerned,  when was the last time you saw this on the side of the road? (Yes, that's a snow mobile)

     The garage lent us a car for the day without even looking at a driver's license. True, they had our car which was much newer than the rental.  Anyway, the bill for four new snow-ready tires, and the block heater was significant.  When we went to retrieve our vehicle, the woman who runs the garage with her husband told Paul their computer was down, and asked if he could come back this next week to pay the bill.  We hadn't given them so much as a driver's license, a credit card number, or any I.D. of any kind and away we drove with all the new items. We aren't sure if our missionary plaques convinced her of our honesty or if she have that much faith in mankind generally.  I would like to believe that in some parts of the world trust is still a viable characteristic.  Update:  when we sent in to pay the bill yesterday, Paul asked the owner if they often let people take their repaired vehicle and pay later.  She said that yes, on occasion they have to do that, and they just hope the individual will return and pay them!