Just as I was thinking all about tiny Smart Cars in France and large SUVs in the states, I met a couple of typically American men at an Italian restaurant in Paris. They were admiring a Smart Car in the street and proclaiming vague statements of delight like, “The more I stay here, the more I come to love this place,” as though Paris were a quaint summer camp on the coast of Maine.

When I talked to these ambiguously Texan gentlemen, I discovered that they were truly men of the world. They were airplane pilots. When I asked them where they lived, one responded, “I’m living in Guam actually.” And when I asked him what that’s like, he responded, “It’s hot.” They were delighted by “how healthy everyone is in Paris, and how everyone walks everywhere.” More deep thoughts from our neighborhood airline pilots. Talk about mimbo material.

They hesitantly accepted to try the spacious driver’s seat of my friend’s Smart Car, but I have a feeling they will be happy to return to their Jeep Grand Cherokees.

Tweet This Post