XENOPHOBE'S GUIDE TO THE SWISS

[Mike Salovesh]

Mark_Mandel at DRAGONSYS.COM wrote:
>
> Barry quotes:
>
> Pg. 64  _The Author_
>      Born in Southport, Lancashire, Paul Bilton recently became what
> is known somewhat unaffectionately as a "paper Swiss."  (First marry a
> Swiss, then live  in the country for five years, fill in forms, wait
> another 18 months, and  finally hand over several hundred Swiss francs
> in cash for the paper which  grants Swiss nationality to the local
> postman when he delivers your mail.)
>
> But why go to all that trouble to naturalize your postman, who is
> already Swiss?
>
> Well, that's how I read it.

Do you mean there's some other way to read it?

I thought it was a mournful restatement of Catch-22, Swiss Bureaucracy
style.

> When I got to the end I shook my head and went back to re-parse the
> whole thing... just like dealing with a German subordinate clause.

Odd coincidence:  I used to have a German subordinate named Klaus, too.
Eventually I had to let him go because there was no dealing with him.

--  mike salovesh             <salovesh at niu.edu>        PEACE !!!