USA # 35

[deckerd@agcs.com]

> 
> Sahibs,
> 
You would start out your letter that way...the use of the word "Sahib"
in that USA #35 story has caused me some second and third thoughts. The
story takes place in Egypt, but "sahib" is really associated with India
and Pakistan as a term of address by natives to Europeans (and it's
probably terribly un-PC now anyway). The usual Arab term is "effendi."
Yet "sahib" is ultimately Arabic and means "lord" or "companion"
according to my dictionary. I don't have my copy of the Dutch original
of the "Treasure Temple" story -- would one of our Dutch friends be so
kind as to look it up and check to see if the word "sahib" was used in
the original Dutch text? I've forgotten -- it's been over a year since
I worked on the story. At this late date, it seems to me that if I had
been thinking, I should have used "effendi"...unless I was so locked 
into following the Dutch original that I just put down whatever was there.
Gads, between this and the "Valley of Kings"/"Valley of the Kings" goof,
I'm starting to wonder how many more mistakes I made in that story that
are ticking like time bombs waiting to go off...

> And, Dwight, I enjoyed your
> translation.  Thanks for finding American gags (my favorite was the Old Face
> Full gag, yuk, yuk).  That's got to be a challenge.  

It is, Dobie, it is! Some of the Dutch stories have background gags that
are visual illustrations of Dutch puns or common expressions, and even 
though English and Dutch are closely related languages, the puns often 
just don't transfer from one to the other. 

--Dwight Decker