To my American friends

[percival]

First of all, although you may not realise it, you are ambassadors for your country. You really are. I now know so many kind, thoughtful, discerning Americans that I can't let people confuse the oddballs and rednecks that are paraded on telly with the real thing anymore. ::hugs::

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Now for a clarification: what exactly does "All-American" mean? conforming to an American ideal?

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Concluding on a more prosaic note: Which web sites give good drive time estimates? I got suspicious when Yahoo cited the distance between Tri-Cities and Tacoma as 4 hours 18 minutes, while my source said it was something like 6 hours. Hmmm .... This is relevant because I plan to trawl map web sites and print routes before we leave. Two more weeks to go. Am v. excited ...

Comments

[swampfaye.livejournal.com]

To me... I think "All American" means someone who is an "achiever". Not necessarily a talent. Someone who has worked hard, is clean cut - got good grades, played a little baseball - and now is "doing well" at whatever they wanted. Kinda "Clark Kent" without the Superman. "All American" is very Hufflepuff/Gryffindor to me. Hard Work/Loyalty/Talent/Pride toss in a little of Ravenclaw studiousness and a touch of SLytherin slyness... and you have All American ;)

[piperx.livejournal.com]

Swampfaye did a good job explaining what "All-American" means. I usually hear it used to refer to high school football players - "He's a clean-cut, all-American kid".

As for travel distances, my favorite has always been http://www.mapquest.com/

Where is/are the Tri-cities? If they are in Northern Oregon, I'd guess the distance is much closer to four hours than six hours.

[perceval.livejournal.com]

They are in South-East Washington - near the Oregon border.

We'll see - I shall consult mapquest now!

percival