Seth's List for 05/09/03
In her memoirs, Barbara Bush described one of those
most embarrassing moments that inevitably occur, even on the most
carefully advanced of foreign trips. Along with her husband, then
the Vice President, Mrs. Bush was lunching with Emperor Hirohito
at Tokyo's Imperial Palace.
Sitting next to the Emperor, Mrs. Bush found the conversation
an uphill task. To all her efforts at verbal engagement, the Emperor
would smile and say "Yes" or "No," with an occasional
"Thank You" tossed in for good measure.
Looking around her elegant surroundings, she complimented
Hirohito on his official residence.
"Thank you," he said.
"Is it new?" pressed Mrs. Bush.
"Yes."
"Was the old palace just so old that it was falling
down?" asked Mrs. Bush.
In his most charming, yet regal, matter, Hirohito
replied, "No, I'm afraid that you bombed it."
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