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In the footsteps of Borat…

Between the Queen’s visit to Jamestown and President Bush’s, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of the British colony that gave us America, we stumble wide-eyed into Green Top, a store in Ashland, Va. that sells bait, fishing gear, camouflage baby-wear and, yes, guns. We cornered a congenial salesman (who appeared to have eaten much smoked barbecue in his lifetime) for a few questions. He smiled broadly when we told him we were from Italy. “Whaddya mean you can’t buy a gun in Italy? That’s a real shame.” His smile momentarily faded to embrace the vision of a place on earth bereft of firearms. Then he pulled out a long, beautiful rifle and proudly proclaimed, “This here’s an Italian-made gun!” It cost around $2300. We reassured him that if guns were available to the average Italian someone would most likely shoot the Prime Minister. This registered briefly and a kind of befuddlement came over him. We thanked him for his time and made our way to the Smoky Pig across the street to sample some of that savory Virginia barbecue. It’s rib-stickin’ good, as they say.

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