Visiting Treasure Island I went to Las Vegas with my parents who were visiting me from Japan. At a gift shop in Treasure Island Hotel, there were a lot of products with pirate logos. My mother found a coffee mug that she liked. “Oh, isn’t this Niguro nice…,” she said. What? Did she just say “Negro”? I was puzzled. “Did I say something wrong?” she whispered in my ear. What she meant was the design on the mug, “Dokuro,” a Japanese word for the “skull and crossbones.” Her ignorance was rather innocent and scary.... “My dear silly mother” |