Subject: true story worth repeating
Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2003 9:38 am
> > > >
> > > > A friend of mine is an officer in the naval reserve. A few weeks
ago,
> > > > he was attending a conference that included admirals in both the US
> and
> > > > the French navies. At a cocktail reception, my friend found himself
> in
> > > > a small group that included an admiral from each of the two navies.
> > > >
> > > > The French admiral started complaining that whereas Europeans
learned
> > > > many languages, Americans only learned English. He then asked.
"Why
> > > is
> > > > it that we have to speak English in these conferences rather than
you
> > > > have to speak French?"
> > > >
> > > > Without even hesitating, the American admiral replied. "Maybe it is
> > > > because we arranged it so that you did not have to learn to speak
> > > > German."
> > > >
> > > > The group became silent.
> > > > A friend of mine is an officer in the naval reserve. A few weeks
ago,
> > > > he was attending a conference that included admirals in both the US
> and
> > > > the French navies. At a cocktail reception, my friend found himself
> in
> > > > a small group that included an admiral from each of the two navies.
> > > >
> > > > The French admiral started complaining that whereas Europeans
learned
> > > > many languages, Americans only learned English. He then asked.
"Why
> > > is
> > > > it that we have to speak English in these conferences rather than
you
> > > > have to speak French?"
> > > >
> > > > Without even hesitating, the American admiral replied. "Maybe it is
> > > > because we arranged it so that you did not have to learn to speak
> > > > German."
> > > >
> > > > The group became silent.
