Yes, I do. Else I'd still think that you are alltogether ignorant idiots -
like many people think here about Americans. So now I only think that - as
everywhere else - only a minority are ignorant idiots, but one hears not
too much of the other folks with a clue.

I wish my father was still alive, so his generation could come over there
and kick your asses -- again. Oh, wait -- we "rescued" Austria from the
Nazis... Right.

My only hope is that your kids are different and that they sometime try to
search for their names, so they will find your postings on this group and
they hopefully will see what an ignorant you are. You said your son makes
a trip to spain (?): hopefully he get's an idea of how things work "in the
rest of the world".

Yep, Joe's going to Spain in a couple of weeks. He will be living with a
family there for the better part of two weeks, completely immersed in
Spanish culture. It should be a great experience for him.

That said, I've been amazed at what his school has been teaching him in
advance of this trip. The dire warnings against doing things that are
considered to be entirely innocuous and normal here fall somewhere between
scary and appalling. They've even gone so far as to tell our kids not to
bring t-shirts with American flags on them, lest they be seen as people who
are proud of their country of origin. (Apparently to the
less-than-self-confident Europeans, this would be seen as an affront?)

Interestingly, we've all told Joe that we want Spanish-flag t-shirts as
souvenirs. We might even wear them. Shocking!

Due to budget constraints, the kids will also be riding those infamous
subways around Madrid -- something we are less than happy about. I trust
that since the Spanish Army fled Iraq after the last round of subway
bombings, my kid will be entirely safe. Not!

As for our passport status, yep, we've got 'em. But I don't foolishly
believe that by visiting a few tourist attractions in a country that I will
"know" it any better than if I had paid attention in school. Hell, I've
spent almost fifty years exploring the Northern Hemisphere from
coast-to-coast, and STILL don't "know" it.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"