Originally Posted by Idle

I try to do all my deals on a handshake, but a contract soon follows.

I lived for a number of years in west Texas and everyone knows everyone because it is too difficult to travel outside of your area. Before WW2 the roads were dirt and a trip to town then meant an overnight stay. A one hundred mile trip would take three or four hours, then an overnight stay, then a few hours of business and four more hours of travel to get home. No one traveled after dark; it was just too scary.

Today a trip is an all day thing if you leave early in the morning, and everyone still knows everyone. The population is so sparse it is not hard to meet everyone if you just get out of the house.