An Interview with Steve

Life for me has amounted mainly to life here in Texas. IVe prompted a little IVe been to both the west and east coasts of this surface area. IVe infern large cities and sm both towns, oceans, deserts and mountains. IVe traveled d adept several states and take up met people from all kinds of backgrounds. Growing up we had classes in school. We learned of a self-colored new world out there, with varied cultures and traditions.We had learned how our country began how it was discovered, how it was populated, and of the wars our ancestors went through to ain independence and equating for all who lounge around here. Through our p bents and grandpargonnts we learned t chapeau, with the exception of Native Americans, our ancestors emigrated here from countries far away, around of which are separated from us by vast oceans. Other than what we break read, the pictures we see in those books, the portrayals on video recording and film, most of us will never know the places our ance stors walked, or converse with people who presently live in those countries.With the development of the Internet and the World Wide Web, those countries are now coming literally to our fingertips. ace of the most fascinating aspects of getting access to the Internet is how it brings the people of the world into our own homes. We can govern out firsthand how those people live, what they believe, their customs, and their opinions of us. That is the focus of this es posit. One of my sober friends, for the past two and half age, is a man named Steve. We met online in a chat community and be shine fast friends. He is 48 historic period old and lives in Essex, England, which is a county northeast of London.Steve is a truck driver by trade and a musician by heart. Hes sent me many of his songs, two of which he rote, and in my opinion, hes a very wide musician, though he often avows hes not. Hes an avid Rolling St peerlesss fan, and most of the songs he performs at pubs reflect this . This makes for diverting chats between us at times as he tries to convert another wayward soft-rock-loving psyche into a Stones fan. Im not really sure how Steve felt about me admiting to do my essay on him. He undoubtedly count ons Im being very nosey, nosey peep was the actual term he used, merely he did consent to being interviewed.The only question he asked was if he had to be serious in his answers. When I asked him Where do you live? of course he nswered modem land. I told him that didnt befriend with my essay, and he replied, mfou know the answer, ask the stuff you dont. And so our interview began It seems that America has a great fascination with Great Britain. We see British actors every. vnere. We even nave or so(a) British snows on television. Many ot the stories covered in the news these days are telling of news of England, especially concerning the royal family. Why is this?IVe mentioned this fact to Steve a few times in chats. This opens up quite a little de bate. He says its only natural for us to look to them, as England is the parent of us. I tell him that cant be. My ancestors came from France and Germany. He gets a chuckle, and then starts to lecture on how America as a whole was started by them, and we made the grave mis regaining of wasting good English tea, to which I mirthfully reply that its 0k, because I dont drink tea. I asked Steve if he sees himself as English or British. English, foremost, he says. I then asked him what he enjoys about his country.He express he enjoys the countryside, with its quiet rolling hillsides, spring flowers and gentle smooth rivers. He enjoys the music, and the English ale, with its bitter but smooth taste, and he adds it must be erved at direction temperature. Somehow I think he was being extra poetic because I had asked him to elaborate on his original answer of countryside, music, English ale. Hes generally a man of few words, at least typed words, but when gently prodded, he can say quite a lot, sometimes sarcastically, but often humorously. We discussed some of the history in England.He says that the English tend to take their historical sites for granted, though they do a good Job of protecting the old buildings and sights. When I asked if he goes out and enjoys the historical places, he said, No, but IVe worked in a few places of historical interest. He says If you live in Manhattan, you dont go up to the Statue of Liberty. We take it all for granted really. We shouldnt but do. I can easily see the truth in what he says, as frequently of our history here is being allowed to be forgotten. When speaking of lifestyles, Steve says that he likes to experience different cultures. Big Ben is on my doorstep.I would rather travel the world and see differing ways of living. I can see Big Ben anytime. The world is changing. Id like to see some of it before McDonalds gets there first. Even Bangkok has a McDonalds. Steve is speaking f his recent trip to Bangkok, Thailand. I asked him if differing lifestyles was the big draw for so many British to immigrate to the states. He says that the draw for the English is that living in the states is similar to Englands way of life, only much more than comfortable. The main struggle, he says, between England and the United States is that America is very inward looking.We seem to take on 99% American news and Just 1% on the rest of the world. Though that may puzzle changed since 9/1 1 . He says that Americans wish to know less of the world in general. accordingly he apologized for sounding insulting. He ent on to say that England ruled most of the world at one point, so theyVe always had interest in the world. He says that their news is about 50/50. I said that I wondered why England wants to rule so many countries. He said We dont anymore. Weve tried to give some countries back, but they wont have it. We tried to give Gibraltar back to Spain, but the people said they wanted to baulk British I asked why t hat was.He said, They like us. Were quaint. This moved us on toa subject Steve has much to say about. I asked him what life was like under the rule of a monarchy. He took no time to say, Personally, its dreadful. I hate being the Queens subject. Having only seen the monarchy on American television, I was curious as to why he would say that. He replied, l resent their ways, their opinions. They are snobs of the worst kind privileged and pampered succession some of their people starve on the streets. Theyre hypocrites. He goes on to say that the royals are expensive trophies for the tourists to view.Steve states, Theyll never change. The grandeur survives to keep the working man in his place. Give him a beer, a bit of telly and football, and hell be good and quiet. I mentioned that they portray the royals here as heading oward a possible collapse, and he says, Its not that simple, Im afraid. They are too powerful, too lavish. They have low friends in high places. It would take a rotation to get rid of them, and the English people Just want a quiet life. To lighten the converse up, I turned the subject to English traditions. He states that there arent many left.He says, We have Guy Fawkes Day. Its fireworks to retain the capture of Guy Fawkes, who tried to blow up parliament. He laughs, When I worked there, down in the root cellar on a wall is scrawled Guy Fawkes was here, and an email address. Guy Fawkes was like three hundred years ago. We also have Pancake Day, when we all eat pancakes. Some have pancake races, where women run while tossing pancakes in a pan. We also have egg and spoon races where you run with an egg balanced on a small spoon. All very sensible pastimes. Our conversation rolled around to what the English think of America.Steves impression seems to come through easily with his words. It depends on whether theyVe been to America or not. IVe never met anyone whos been there that doesnt roll in the hay America or Americans. Americans over here in England, though, can come across as a little loud and brash. The English that go over to the States tend to go to Florida for the climate and Disneyworld. Its where all the travel package companies sell holidays to. Its closer than California. Most English peeps like beaches. They fly 5000 miles to lie on a beach for two weeks. It doesnt make sense to me. Id rather see the countryside or the cities. Then he quotes sunshine bores the daylights outta me, a Mick Jagger line. Did I mention he was a Stones fan? Steve has always been quick to say how much he loves America. Hes traveled across the ocean about four times already, and driven from one coast to the other, a trek he ays he wants to do again, as soon as he can afford a month off from work. I asked if he thought it would be more difficult, since 9/1 1, to get a visa to come here. He said he has a life visa. If youVe been in the States a couple of times on short visas and havent overstayed or misbehaved, they give yo u a life visa.Or at least they used to. He proudly admits to having one. With his views of the government in England, I couldnt help but ask if hed ever considered moving here. He said he had, after his first chew the fat here. And after his second. A d his third The first couple ot times I was married My sister-in-law nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide MS and my wife wouldnt leave England. I also had a cracking band, which in American hurt means a really good band. On a later trip, the housing market crashed. If I had sold my house, I would have owed $120,000. Going back to the discussion of England, I asked if they got much sunshine during the year.Steve, in his charming way said, mieah, we had a good summer. Think it happened on a Thursday. I inquired about this because weve all seen the old classic movies depicting London always under a blanket of fog. When I mentioned this, he laughed. No, thats a myth. We do get fog occasionally but mostly in the countryside, ot London. But when we get it, we get it, thick as soup. He goes on to say that it rains a lot in England, which makes the country very green, which he likes. England is cognise for its poor nutrition on roads. I asked Steve about this.He says, Potholes are everyplace in local roads. The weather breaks roads up and they wont pay for upkeep. England is famous for digging holes in the roads. They amaze cables, pipes, etc. , fill them in, come back a week later, dig them up again. Its a British pastime. I asked if people travel much. He says most people holiday abroad. Its cheaper to go to Spain than to stay in England. When asked if England was a majority of wealthy or poor, he says that most are not poor, but they have their money tied up in their houses. On paper, there are a lot of rich people.I myself have $200,000 on paper, but its tied up in my house. The cheapest apartment in my area be $130,000. If you rent, its usually from the local government. Then, as an example, after a few years you can buy it at a 66% discount. Then you pay maybe $30,000 for a house thats worth $100,000, so most people buy. The government does this for their own benefit. Its short term they get cash and dont have to pay the maintenance costs. The downside is that there are no homes available for people to rent. I unfortunately bought on the open market, so no discount. Its interesting to know that, like here in America, they have a variety of accents. Steve speaks Cockney, which is known around the London area. If youVe seen the Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen film Winning London, my sisters favorite movie, youll get a breathing space of it. To us its fast spoken and hard to understand, and believe me, isnt much easier to understand in text, which he throws in from time to time Just to confuse me. He also mentions the Queens English, which is much more proper sounding, and hat we generally hear spoken on television.There are other accents as well, depending on the region you come from. I hate d to end the interview. England has so much to learn about. I would have liked to flip much more deeply into the history and culture of his country, the things we dont hear and read about here in the States. But its getting late for Steve. England is 7 hours ahead of Texas. Its very easy to forget the time difference and Just keep talking, on my end at least. I am very happy to have met Steve, even if we never get the opportunity to meet tace-to-tace.