"Oh yes I do," said John. "If it weren't for an English shepherd having romantic notions towards a sheep, we wouldn't have any Welsh at all."

"You see the sort of abuse that I have to put up with," laughed Graham. "I would kick his arse if he weren't my best mate."

"Sheep shaggers," uttered John.

"Let me give you a lesson in history," said Graham. "Most historians think that the story about human sacrifices is utter rot. The Welsh were not bloodthirsty savages, and they didn't cook people. The ancient Welsh were farmers, artisans, scholars, and priests who got a lot of bad press from the Romans. The Romans made up stories about them to justify invading their land. Welsh culture goes back a good 1000 years before Christ. They were part of the Celtic empire that stretched from Greece to Ireland. The Greeks called them Keltoi, and the Romans Celtai. Cymraeg or Welsh Language is the language of the ancient Celts. They were one of the most powerful people's in Europe in 300 BC, until the Romans moved in.

The Welsh were fearsome in battle and they gave the Romans a royal pain in the arse for quite some time. Eventually the Romans, in 212 AD, prevailed and many Welshmen became Roman citizens."

"Lots of people don't know it, but St. Patrick was Welsh;" continued Graham.

"Yes." interjected John. "He drove the snakes from Ireland and sent them to England."

"Not only St. Patrick, but King Arthur was Welsh. Not to mention all of our Tudor Monarchs, Henry the IV through the VIII, Elizabeth the First…" Said Graham.

"Bloody hell," muttered John.

"There is even a good possibility that the Welsh may have settled America before Columbus, " continued Graham. "According to Welsh legend, Madog ab Owain Gwynedd took eight ships to what is now known as Mobil Bay Alabama in 1169. He left most of his people in America, and returned for additional settlers the following year. He sailed from Lundy Island with several more boatloads of Welshmen in 1171, and was never heard of again. People tell stories about the light skinned Mandan Indians of North Dakota. Scholars supposedly found much of their language and customs similar to those of Wales."

"Customs?" Sneered John, "You mean to say they lived with sheep?"

"I don't believe thy raised sheep," replied Graham. "The Welsh also published their own translation of the Bible in 1588, some years before the King James and the Douay-Rheims versions were published in English.

"Oh, and I also need to point out that that the Methodist Revival also began in Wales."

"Which goes to show," interjected John, "That the Welsh were sorely in need of redemption."

"That is interesting." said I, "But we need to get on the road. I would like you to see the Columbia River Gorge, Bonneville Dam and some of our other sights before the day is over."

"I can't believe how cheap your petrol is," remarked Graham.

"Cheap?" I replied. "It is over $2.20 and rising."

"In the UK," said Graham, we pay something like 88 to 90 pence a liter. That should equate to something like $5.90 to $6.00 per US Gallon."

I took a deep breath and ushered my friends into the car. I looked at John and said: "I didn't realize that Graham was a Welshman."

John smiled and whispered. "He isn't. He is as English as I am. He fancies himself a ladies man. He studied about Wales and took a Welsh language course just to impress weak-minded Welsh women.

My friends John and Graham are very English, and very funny. I so enjoyed visiting with them.