Balki Bartokomous was a young shepherd with a gentle heart from the Island of Mypos, located in the Aegean Sea. Balki's life-long dream was to move to the USA. In 1986, after consulting with his cousin Philo, who knew the family history, he found that he had distant relatives in the USA that he could go to. Balki bid his family goodbye and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the USA on a tramp steamer. He then took the bus to Madison, WI where he met a man by the name of George Appleton and told him his story. George Appleton sent Balki south to Chicago to move in with his eldest son, Larry.As it turned out, Larry never heard from his father that Balki was coming and wasn't too keen on having a room mate. However, he took pitty on Balki when he saw how lost and alone the young Mypiot was. The next day, Larry left Balki in charge of the store he worked at, Ritz Discount when he had to go help a neighbor. Balki's naivete and good nature played right into the hands of customers, eager to get a discount. He sold hundreds of dollars worth of stuff for only $65.When Larry's boss, Mr. Twinkacetti saw what Balki had done, he said that Balki would have to pay him back by fixing an old beat up radio. Balki fixed the radio by hooking it up to an amplifier. When Twinkie found that out, he was very angry and fired Larry for letting Balki run the store. Balki was angry that Twinkie was taking his anger at him out on Larry. Balki demanded that Twinkacetti rehire Larry.Twinkie thought things over and rehired both of them so he could take $10 a week out of their checks for all the stuff they lost. Welcome to America, Balki Bartokomous!