October 3, 2026 · by Gary M. Penzell
My Awakening: How One Night of British Television Changed This Old Man Forever
Linda went to bed at 9. I stayed up. I will never be the same.
Folks, I have been an American for 70 years. I have read a lot of deeds, grilled ribs, and complained about the price of gas through four presidents. I thought I knew everything about the English language. I was WRONG.
Last Tuesday my grandson set me up with one of them streaming boxes and put on a show about British gangsters. Fellas in nice coats, drinking tea, threatening each other in a pub. Wonderful program. But then something happened.
One of them said to the other, 'You're a good cunt, Tommy.' And Tommy SMILED. He was PLEASED. I nearly dropped my Werther's Original.
Over here, if you say that word at the Applebee's they ask you to leave (I have since learned this firsthand). Over there? It's a term of ENDEARMENT. It's a COMMA. It's a whole way of life.
I wrote this down on a legal pad and I have been thinking about it every day since. Why are we letting the British have all the fun? We beat them in 1776. We can beat them at this too.