gershon hepner - little mint balls

To little mint balls when a Brit is chuffed
you wonder whether you have been rebuffed.
From one side of the Atlantic to the other
communicating clearly is a bother.
Of small mint balls the meaning's hard to figure,
and it's no easier when the balls are bigger,
since on the wrong side of the great Atlantic
both sizes are inclined to make you frantic,
so keep your shirt on, buttoned-up and cuffed,
and make quite sure that it is never stuffed.

Camille Ricketts writes about Californian firms tat are establishing branches in London. Nearly one in three U. S. companies in London are from California, and they are loosening up Britain's famously button-up business decorum ('When in London Do as the Californians Do, ' WSJ, January 23,2007) :

Even though he speaks the same language as his new British colleagues, California native Ray DeRenzo had toruble understanding them when he moved to London as vice president of the international business development at MobiTV, and Emberyville, Calif., company that delivers television broadcasts to mobile phones. When Mr. DeRenzo received an email froma British citizen saying she was 'cuffed to the mint balls, ' he says, 'we didn't know if we had delighted or disappointed' His colleagues at hedquarters in California asked what was going on. Even though it was late at night in London, Mr. DeRenzo quickly phoned some Britons on his team. Their answer: The client was very happy, of course.

1/23/07

gershon hepner

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/little-mint-balls/