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

Robert Morris (winboog@gis.net)
Fri, 14 May 1999 23:34:41 -0400

>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.

  I'm nearly 30 and weigh just about ten pounds more than I did when I was
high school 128 lb. wrestler. I think this is well within normal range.

>- When it comes to footwear, we're really quite fond of sneakers and
>sneaker-derivatives.

  I have one of my four pairs of cowboy boots on my feet right now.

>- Our Italian vocabulary spans at least 3 words.

  Being a kid of Irish descent, who has never even thought about venturing
to Italy, you got me here.

>- What's all this nonsense about trains. We're renting a car.

  I haven't driven since I was 18. I take the train everywhere i go.
.
>
>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.

  The case you made earlier was that sitcoms are an accurate reflection of
American culture. If that is the case we're more lost than I ever thought.
The items you put forth here are of a different nature, and I've answered
only for myself.

                      Robert Morris





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