Patti

Debbie and I went to Harrod's Sunday afternoon. I bought tea, and looked halfheartedly for crumpets, but didn't find them and didn't try too hard.

The back story involves the prints I'm making for ErosFestNW. The guy who does my prints did a fantastic job, turning the proofs around in a couple of hours rather than the usual 24. When I was looking at the proofs I jokingly asked him if he needed anything from London. "Tea and crumpets?"

So today I picked up prints (they're wonderful!), and gave him the tea. "Sorry, I tried to find crumpets and failed."

"No problem. What is a crumpet, anyway?"

While on board the flight from Frankfurt to San Francisco, a flight attendant came by and handed me a drink. She then reached for something and passed it to me. "And here's a serviette." She did this in what sounded like a clear American accent.

Later in the flight, I stopped her and asked, "You're American, right?"

"Yes."

"Interesting. You used the word serviette rather than napkin, and that caught me by surprise."

"I'm an international flight attendant. That's what they taught me to say."

I know why. Do you?