An article by readers in recent issues.

Roman Holiday

Text/David G. Holstrom? /translation:? Wen Chunguo?

A man walks into Joe's barber shop. He pulls here once a month to get a haircut. After getting a haircut, he turns to leave.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Joe asked.

The man quickly explained that he was going to Rome for his holiday.

"Rome?" Joe showed a surprised look. "Why are you going there? It's a filthy city, full of Italians! Only crazy people go to Rome! How are you going to Rome? "

“? I'm going to fly on TWA. "The man replied.

" TWA? " Joe asked loudly, that's a terrible airline. Their planes are old, the flight attendants are ugly, and they are always late! So where are you going to live when you get to Rome?

"I'm going to stay at the Marriott International Hotel in the center of Rome," the old man said.

"What the hell?" Joe said, "That's the worst hotel in Rome! The room is small, the service attitude is bad, the response is slow, and the price there is too high! What are you doing there? "

"I'm going to the Vatican to meet His Holiness". The man said.

"Haha! This is a joke! " Joe laughed. "Not only you, but also millions of other people want to meet him. By then, the Pope you meet will look as big as an ant. Good luck, man. You really should!"

A month later, the old man walked into the barber shop. "Hey, how about this trip to Rome? TWA flight is the worst flight you have ever encountered in your life, right? " Joe asked. "No, on the contrary." The man explained, "I not only caught up with a new batch of luxury planes they bought, but also they arranged me to be in first class when the plane was full. There were not only delicious food and wine on the plane, but also a beautiful stewardess of 28 years old!"

"humph!" Joe said, "Hey, I bet that hotel is just like what I said?"

"no, on the contrary! They just spent $25 million redecorating the hotel. Now, it has become the best hotel in Rome. At that time, the hotel rooms were fully booked, so they apologized for it and let me live in the presidential suite at the price of ordinary rooms! "

"hey!" Joe muttered, "I know you didn't see the Pope!" "

"Actually, I was very lucky. When I was visiting the Vatican, a Swiss guard came up to me, patted me on the shoulder and told me that the Pope wanted to meet some guests in person. As long as I was willing to wait in his private drawing room for a while, the Pope would personally receive me. Sure enough, five minutes later, the Pope came in and shook hands with me warmly. When I knelt down, the Pope also said a few words to me.

"Oh, not much, actually." He just asked, "Where did you get such an ugly haircut?"

from reader, 29-11.