Nowhere else do they love Americans so much. When General MacArthur sailed into Yokohama on those black ships, he started a true love affair between the greatest countries of East and West. For my part, I make sure that all of my students understand the importance of our two countries' relationship with each other. I think all this leads me to an important point between our two countries, video. We have normal video, while everyone else has PAL. I went to Thailand and bought a whole bunch of bootleg videos to bring back here. Imagine my surprise when I learned that they use a system called PAL, which is completely unsuitable for Japanese and American video players. Never mind that the whole concept of video and movies is American and that most video players are made in Japan. The rest of the world tries to cut around us by using their own European system. Maybe it makes it easier for them to steal our videos that way. Well, as British beef and the whole European Union have shown, thieves will end up hanging themselves. I will protest this by refusing to eat French Fries or English Muffins until they all convert to normal video. In fact, I will stop drinking Scotch altogether, unless someone else pays for it. I will thank Japan, though, for it is here where I find the most appreciation and understanding. Together, our two great countries will protect the free-world.

I apologize for the serious nature of this article, but someone had to say it. Next month, I promise to return with more tales of my true life in Fukuoka.

Regards,

Bucky