The Truth about Little China;

As they pulled up to the Bridge across Galveston Bay, the Texan was smitten by a feeling of Dejas Vu. "Do you know, I think I've been here before?" he commented. "When?" the Aussie asked, hoping against hope that this might shed some light upon the question of Australia's location. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure they've built up this bridge since then, though." "What business brought you out this way?" the Aussie asked, probing a little. "Well, it was back during the War of Liberty Ships. Those years were some of the LONGEST years of my life. Why I had a friend born on Feb 29th, and HE had TWO birthdays back then. Anyway, it was back in the days before Houston was the world's center of the Silicone Valleys, and I was off on my virgin voyage of discovery. Well, I turned into a Cat house, and got a good toke on an opium pipe, and pretty soon I got Shanghaied, and that's how I got started on my trip to China, which led to all the business about the Golden Rat. I do believe that if I am not mistaken, the whole of my trip was not more than the length of this bridge!" "But I thought YOU thought this was OZ!" the Aussie explained, a little breathlessly. "Well, if it's China, it ain't OZ, and that means YOU don't know your GEOGRAPHY!" the Texan finished accusatory. "Well, I've come to have my doubts," was the angry retort. The lane markers fell behind them with metronomic precision, and the Aussie thought about it. "If this is China, what's in NY?" he finally asked in a diplomatic purchase of time, in case this 'Galveston' place turned out to be neither Oz, nor China. "Well, New York, for one thing," the Texan replied knowledgeably, "but I know what you're alluding to. That's not China, China, that's LITTLE China." The man from down under breathed an internal sigh of relief, and pondered this new development. "Where did the opium come from?" he queried further, partly out of curiosity. "Well, you know, Houston IS the Southern tip of the Golden Triangle, and the Golden Triangle is the source of MOST of the world's opium crops." The Texan knew that drugs were bad, but he couldn't help being proud of Texas' premier position in the trade anyway. "We'd best find another bar and have a Fosters," the Aussie commiserated. "It's going to be a long drive back home. "I know what you mean," the Texan responded glumly. "I'd better spell you."