1

Right from the start, I have always kept connections with the American branch of my family. They had moved to New York at the very time my ancestors moved to Paris.

2

From the Lower East side ice door-to-door delivery trade they gradually graduated to structural engineering and the law and now live in suburban comfort in Valley Stream (Long Island). They always advised me to keep an eye on things American: the United States was the most important country in the world, the very place when one can really make a buck, and also a source of perpetual wonder and merriment for observers of its mores. So, when Billy Graham came to Europe for a tour I decided to attend.

3

Enraptured, converted, I was born again to American studies. I even asked for private tuition, and the Reverend was kind enough to map out a career plan for me. The day would come, he said, when the devil would be abroad in France on a truly grand scale, and God's own country would be in dire need of real friends against the Antichrist. H-L Mencken might even find its devious way into the curriculum. It was God's plan that I should be ready when called to do my part to foster the Good Cause.

4

And, right now, I'm working on it.