Dude

I told you that Rhett, Francesco, and I went out last Thursday night and had a really good time. I forgot about this little nugget. The same Dutch bartenders who let us stay late so they could chastise us for individual gun ownership and the freedom to choose your doctor provided a funny story earlier in the night. The three of us decided we wanted White Russians. The bartender was not sure what that meant so we explained that it was equal parts vodka, Kahlua, and milk. She came back a few minutes later with tiny shot glasses full of White Russian. We corrected her and she confessed that she had never heard of such a drink. We told her about The Big Lebowski and how its protagonist (anti-hero? role model? god?), the Dude, drinks nothing but White Russians. That turned on the light bulb. “Oh, I know the Dude. Yeah! I like that movie.” She said something in Dutch to her coworkers. All three of them got excited and started walking around behind the bar saying,

“Dude”
“Dude!”
“the Dude”
“Dude Dude”

I wonder what they call a White Russian in Dutch. He orders it about five thousand times throughout the movie. I’m sure it translates to something freaky and nonsensical. The Dude probably orders bicycle grease or fritesauce. The Dude is a uniter. Never underestimate his ability to fuse cultures.