RE: American like Sam Shepard ( was guns and stuff)

Sean Draine (seandr@Exchange.Microsoft.com)
Fri, 14 May 1999 17:12:51 -0700

I was in Italy last September, where I had the opportunity to observe my
fellow Americans outside their natural habitat. Several rather embarassing
facts were brought to my attention.

- We (1) seem to have put on a few pounds in the last 40 years. 
- When it comes to footwear, we're really quite fond of sneakers and
sneaker-derivatives. 
- Our Italian vocabulary spans at least 3 words.
- What's all this nonsense about trains. We're renting a car.
- Rick Steves.

1 - My use of the pronoun "we" will no doubt incite someone to haughtily
respond to the effect of "Not the Americans I choose to associate with!".
So, let's be clear. The Americans that *you* choose to associate with are
the glorious exceptions.