A sign I saw this week in Tokyo reminded me of a story the elder Laquedem told me, about his own trip to Japan. Cheerfully ignorant of the language, he was being shown around Tokyo by a charming young woman, with Venerable Mom following close behind. As he admired the signs and their bold colors, graphics, and characters, he pointed at one and said, “What a pretty sign!”
“Oh, Mr. Laquedem,” said his guide, blushing, “That’s an ugly sign; it’s advertising tampons.”
“No,” he said, “It’s a pretty sign.”
His guide answered, “It’s a pretty sign to you because you can’t read it.”
That brought to mind how starkly beautiful much of the Arab world is said to be, but then, I can’t read the signs. I got the idea from the Congressional hearings on September 11 that neither could our government.