"The currency of Haiti, by the way, is based on the American dollar. Whatever an American dollar is worth, that is what a Haitian dollar is worth, and actual American dollars are in good circulation. There seems to be no scheme in Haiti, however, for retiring worn-out dollar bills, and replacing them with new ones. So it is ordinary there to treat with utmost seriousness a dollar which is as insubstantial as a cigarette paper, and which has shrunk to the size of an airmail stamp.
"I found one such bill in my wallet when I got hrom from Haiti a couple of years ago, and I mailed it back to Al and Sue Seitz, the owners and host and hostess of the Oloffson [Hotel], asking them to release it into its natural habitat. It could not have survived a day in New York City."
-Kurt Vonnegut, in the introduction to Deadeye Dick
No comments:
Post a Comment