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When he answered a phone call from his father-in-law, Robert Williams, it landed him face to face with Communist China and a story he'll never forget. Here to tell the story of a strange road trip is the man himself. Take it away, Mark. I show up and We exchanged pleasantries and again he asked me, you know, what are you going to do? I told him I really don't have any plans for the near term.
He said, Well, I need you to do something for me. And I said, What is that? He said, well, you know your brother-in-law, Todd. Met some engineer from Mississippi who's developed some medical device and. Todd wants us to invest in it and They're gonna have it manufactured in China.
And I said, China? They said, yeah, they're going to go to China and I need you to go over there with them. I said, why in the world do you need me to go over there? I don't know anything about medical equipment. He said, Well, I want you to make sure your brother-in-law doesn't sign any contracts or agrees to anything.
I said, So, in other words, I'm going to be a babysitter.
So well, I guess you could put it that way. He had already bought my tickets. I said, Well, when am I going? He said, day after to morrow. I like the Florida seasons chillmate.
He said, You know, don't worry about her. I can take care of her.
So, next thing I know, I'm on a plane, fly to Atlanta, and then. fly from Atlanta to Tokyo, which is 14 and a half hours. I don't know if If you've ever been on an airplane for that long, it's absolutely miserable. But anyway, we're flying to Tokyo. and spent the night there.
Uh and then flew to Hong Kong. And we spent a, I guess it was a night or two there. And then we went into South China went through immigration, which was really kind of nerve-wracking because you got all these Chinese soldiers standing around with Weapons. We go through and we get on a van, and there's actually about 14 or 15 people on this little. escapade and we drive up this highway So we get to get to this city that we're supposed to spend the night in, and then next day go two or three facilities.
And we were supposed to go to a banquet. in a you know a couple of hours. in the hotel. Todd said, Hey, you want to go get a drink? And I'm like, Yeah, sure, why not?
And, you know, let's look around the area.
So we were walking out the front door, and this guard stops us. won't let us go out the door. I'm like, what is going on here? And he pointed over to the receptionist She spoke some English. She can understand what we were talking about.
And she said, How can I help you? We said, We wanted to go. get a drink and just walk around and she said no you can't leave the the hotel we've got Instructions that y'all are not to leave the hotel. And so we said, well, okay, but how about getting a drink? She said, you can go up on the second floor.
where the banquet room is and And there'll be somebody up there y'all can get a drink if you want one.
So we went up there. And then we you know, we're just kind of standing there in this this this man comes walking out from the kitchen area. And says Can I help you? We said, Well, yeah, we were looking for a drink. And he said, Well, what would you like?
said, Well, just a beer'd be fine. And so he says, I'll get you one, I'll be right back. And he goes back in the kitchen. He comes out and he's got three beers.
Well, it's just Todd and I. And I'm wondering, you know, why did he bring three beers? He starts drinking a beer too.
So we drank that first beer and He says, you want another one? We say, well, sure. He walked back, he got another three beers.
Well then he started drinking about two for one With the lesson. And I mean, he put away a few beers over the course of the next hour and a half, and we had a You know, fun conversation with him. He's an interesting guy, spoke very good English. had actually been in educating the United States, at least that's what he told us.
So then it's about time for the banquet and people are starting to come in.
So Todd and I go to the table that we were assigned to. And this fella comes over and sits down with us. And I'm like, wow, you know. I'm thinking this guy is the assistant manager of the kitchen or something. I'm like, you know, he just drank about 12 beers and he's going to wind up getting in some big time trouble.
They go around the room and you're supposed to stand up and introduce yourself.
Well, they come around to our table and I stand up. You know, I'm Mark Foster from Mobile, Alabama. And this fellow stands up and he says, My name is Mr. Wu. I'm the Secretary General of this province.
And Todd and I looked at each other like You gotta be kidding me. This guy's a head communist in this this whole area. Oh, yeah, we've been, you know, making fun with him and digging at him some and I started thinking he's probably going to take us somewhere and torture us. He looks at his watch and says I've got to go to another meeting. But I'll be back about ten thirty.
to pick you and mister Martin up and take you to see the city. And I'm like. You know, it's like eight o'clock or eight thirty by this time. I'm thinking there's no way this guy's coming back.
So I just kind of forget about it and we go up to our range. Lay down. I'm trying to go to sleep and And it's, you know, it's ten thirty or so and My my ring phone rings. And I pick it up and And I hear this uh mister Foster, this is mister Wu. I'm downstairs waiting for you and Mr.
Martin to take you out to see the city. And I thought it was my brother in law. you know, messing with me.
So I said, Todd, go back to sleep, man. I'm tired.
So I hung up. Phone rings again. Said, mister Foster, this really mister Wu. I'm downstairs to pick you up. Mm.
So I thought, I cannot believe that clown is down there.
So I go knock on Todd's door and I said, Todd, mister Wu is downstairs and wants to take us out. He said, I've got a terrible headache. I just can't do it. You're going to have to carry the flag.
So I'm like, oh, great.
So I go down there, and sure enough, there he is. And we walk out the the front door and there's this like a Chinese Humvee type vehicle. And I get up in that thing with him, and there's a driver, and he's got this lady back there. And this is Miss So-and-so. She's from.
Beijing, she's an interpreter. I thought, oh, great. You know, they're going to take me somewhere and. and interrogate me. Y you wanna get another drink?
I'm like, Whatever you want to do, mister William. we go to a another hotel and walk into the bar and it's pretty late. There's still quite a few people in there and We walk in and you could tell immediately that everybody in there knew exactly who mister Wu was and of course they're looking at me 'cause I'm sure a lot of them had never seen an American before. But we sit down at a table and we're talking. Back in those days I was in Pretty good.
physical condition and He reaches over and grabs my bicep, and squeezes and says Oh, you're very strong. We kinda laughed and You squeeze it again. You say, You very strong Or Russell. I said, What? He said arm wrestle.
He throws his little skinny elbows up on the table. I reached over there and Putting down in about a nanosecond. And he was like, You were very strong So he brings over a couple of other guys and they I arm wrestle them. I wind up arm wrestling probably ten of these Chinese guys. And I'm you know, just taking him down almost immediately.
He looks at me and he says When are you supposed to leave? I say, well, we're supposed to get on the bus by about seven in the morning. to head back to uh the coast and go to Hong Kong and fly home. and it's like four o'clock in the morning by now. He looks at me and said, 'You're not going home'.
I said, 'What do you mean I'm not going home? He said, You're going to stay here and we're going to go around arm wrestling and we're going to make a lot of money. I said, Mr Woo, I cannot do that. I've got three kids at home. I've got things to do.
I cannot stay. He said, Oh, yeah, you're staying.
Well, I knew. You know, he was pretty much. Held all the chips, and it was a long way to run to the coast.
So I thought about it for a second. I said, I'll tell you what I'll do. You let me go home, and I'll promise you I'll come back in a couple of months. And I'm going to bring a buddy of mine from Mobile out here, strongest human being ever seen in my life. I guarantee you, there's nobody in China that can beat this guy home wrestling.
And he looked at me and he said, Are you telling me the truth? I said, Yes, sir. There's nobody that can beat this guy. He said, You promised you'll come back. I said, Oh yeah, I'll come back.
So he takes me back to the hotel and literally I had fifteen minutes to go pack my stuff. And get back on the van we had taking us down to the coast, and then we got on a on the hover craft and went back to. To Hong Kong, and I tell you, I was like looking over my shoulder the whole time, scared to death. you know, a pack of Chinese soldiers are going to be Chase me. Fly back to the United States and land in Atlanta, and I'm coming through U.S.
Customs and Yeah, the lady agent looks at my looks at my passport, says, oh, you've been to China. And I said, yes, ma'am. Um And she said, Well, welcome back to the United States. I said, Lady. You don't know how glad I am.
to be back in the United States. And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling by our own Billy Foster. And a special thanks to Mark Foster. His road trip from, well, you know where. And we all have them, folks.
By the way, they end up being great stories in the end. Not while you're going through them, but when you get out them, when they're in the rear view, they become really funny. Send your road trip stories gone wrong to ouramericanstories.com. That's road tripsgone wrong. Send them to ouramericanstories.com.
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restrictions may apply. Welcome to the W, where elite athletes are redefining the game of basketball. From buzzer beating shots, jaw-dropping defense, and logo threes, the WNBA delivers non-stop action and world-class talent every game. These athletes don't just play the game, they elevate it. The biggest stars, the brightest age.
ATT WNBA All-Star 2025 comes to Indianapolis July 18th through 19th. Tune into the game July 19th at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time on ABC. Homes.com is the only place where you can find specialized neighborhood guides with the in-depth insider info home shoppers want. Very in-depth info.
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