Cheers!

When Me goes on a walkabout, there are victims: the Vixen, who has to try to comprehend the workings of Scary's intent, Co- workers, who have to pick up the slack created by me absence and the folks thet happen to meet me along the way when me sets out upon the road.

Me gonna tell you about how to pay for a night's room and board without reaching into your back pocket and forking over a wad of bills or a credit card number. This were easier years ago when me first started travelling, but now has become more difficult as people become more and more distrustful of travelers.

If you can cook one really decent meal, you will be welcome in almost any one's home. All you have to do is sit yourself down in a bar and listen to the people who walk into the place. The first thing of importance is to follow the proper etiquette. Ya just can't walk up to a person and ask Them to let you spend the night. Ya gotta become an instant friend. Ya gotta be able to talk with a person. Find out what they be interested in and get them to talk about it.

That's how Me met Hajime Ippo.
Hajime be a trucker who spends he days running various goods throughout he town.
Me ran into Hajime early one evening when he walked into a bar that me were drinking at in a place that be far from me home. He sat down in the only unoccupied seat in the place, which just happened to be next to me. At first he didn't realize that the guy sitting next to him were a gaijin. He ordered a beer and a plate of fried octopus. It were at that point that me ordered another beer fer meself when he noticed that the Monster were sittin next to him. The look on his face were almost comical. We struck up a conversation and once we got past the 15 stupid things Japanese ask foreigners, the discourse got interesting. Well, not interesting, typical. We talked work, sports, women and of course food while buying each other another round of beers.

Most Japanese people can eat things that would make a billy goat puke, but they have a desire to internationalise though cuisine. I mentioned that when me lived in N.Y. I worked in restaurant kitchens and was able to make food that he could never get in any dive in his town. I started to describe savory stews, spicy burritos and Italian sauces that had him forgetting the last nugget of octopus on his plate.

It was at that point when his cell phone started to ring. After a few moments of lightning fast dialect which Me didn't have to pretend not to understand and some bowing to the person on the other end of the line he hung up, called for the counter man, asked for his check and paid his bill.
He told me that it were he wife on the phone and he had to get back home. "Nice meetin' ya. Hope to talk to you again sometime." Then he got up and left.

Me ordered another beer for meself and a plate of some of them octopus nuggets and thought to meself. "Mebbe next time."

STOMPED.

Me no always hittin homeruns.