There was this businessman who spent three days negotiating a tough deal with a Japanese businessman. The third day, things were going well, and he said, "well, I think that at last we're thinking along parallel lines."

The next day the Japanese businessman didn't show up. He checked the hotel and discovered that the businessman had checked out! So he rushed to the airport and found the Japanese businessman in the departure waiting room. He said, "Why are you leaving? It took three days, but we're finally thinking along parallel lines!"

And the Japanese businessman nodded, and said, "Yes, yes. I scrutinize my dictionary. Parallel lines will never meet. So I go home."