INTERESTING PEOPLE I HAVE MET

I enjoy smoking a fine cigar, drinking a pint of Guinness, and having a conversation with a friend. However, I am not allowed to smoke a cigar inside my house and very few public establishments will allow it. However, in the heart of down town Adrian, there is a cigar friendly Pub called the Barley House. It is where I go when I have the urge to indulge. The proprietor of this fine place is an interesting fellow. His beautiful, voluptuous barmaid, who has a charming Russian accent, is also his wife. I asked him how they had met and he told me the story.

Several years ago, while vacationing in the Southern Ural Mountains, he visited a tavern located in a small village. Because he was attracted to the barmaid, he wanted to get to know her but he had a problem. She did not speak English and he did not speak Russian. Fortunately, he had a comprehensive phrase book with him. It had English/Russian and Russian/English sentences. He would point to a sentence and she would respond by pointing to a sentence. In this manner they became acquainted and fell in love. He asked her to marry him and she said yes! He bought a computer for her that could translate Russian to English and vice versa. He went back home to Adrian and they began an e-mail conversation that lasted for a year. That is how long it took them to get through all the red tape necessary to allow her and her two children to emigrate to the U.S.A. He bought the Airline tickets and the rest is history.

Look around you, be friendly, strike up a conversation, and chances are you will meet some interesting people. I did.