You'll never guess who we ran into at Heathrow airport on the way out of London. Chris Eccles, who was a close friend during our Cambridge days, then got married to an American and moved to Maine to build his dream house. Read about it on his blog: A House in Maine (He never updates it though, no matter how we nag.)
Chris always tells good jokes. Here's one he told us in the airport (translations at the bottom of this post):
A man walks into a bar and spies a fruit machine. He wanders over and is about to play it when suddenly it starts to hurl abuse at him ("You are the ugliest thing I've ever seen and stupid too," etc.) It doesn't stop, and puzzled he gives up and walks over to the bar, whereupon the peanuts immediately start saying the nicest things to him.
"Oh, sir, don't you look dashing today! Simply marvellous." Even more perturbed, he turns to the barman and asks him just why the fruit machine is abusing him so and the peanuts are being so lovely.
"Well, sir, the fruit machine's out of order, and the peanuts are complimentary."
Translations for American reader: A 'fruit machine' is a slot machine. And being 'out of order' means you are being rude and abusive. If a man insults another man, for example, the first man might reply, "You're out of order, mate," but most probably, he will punch him.
2 comments:
Ouch! But how wonderful to see Chris! Hello, Chris, if you read this blog. I remember your visit to Mississippi well, and of course seeing you in England years later. If I ever visit Ellen in Boston (a recently-hatched plot) I'll try and nip up to Maine to see your dream house. I understand it's been coooold there this winter...
Tum tum tum...
Here I am, curbing my sleep to get up at 7am like you poor jet lagged folks wanted me to the last two days.
And none of you are awake!
This is OUT OF ORDER, mates.
Post a Comment