Probably the most ruthless thing I ever did to another fellow American happened on Easter.
The time and place: a small village in Alsace-Lorraine, the exact name of which escapes me at present. The year must have been 1991 or 1992.
We, the self-styled "Toxic Trio", comprising an attractive woman and two admirers were sitting at a small cafe, nursing a previous evening's hangover. We conversed in a mixture of German and English as were were wont to do, though this particular cafe had a definite French vibe going and the proprietress spoke only French.
An older American gentleman entered the cafe and rather loudly ordered coffee and a couple of breakfast rolls. He took a seat in an opposite corner. We continued our own muted conversation, not wishing to give away our identities.
The man finished his coffee and on his way out he paused and, looking at the woman behind the counter, wished her (in English) "Happy Easter!" She gave him a blank stare in return. The man tried again but lacking the word for Easter in French, he again got no where. Now that's where one of the Toxic Trio could have intervened and offered some help. But we sat back, amused.
The man resorted to hand gestures: raising both hands and arms up against his head, he feigned "rabbit ears" and said to the woman: You know, "Easter, Easter Bunny!?" Again she drew a blank. The exasperated man did a hop, which added nothing to his impression.
Frustrated, the man dropped his secular interpretation and instead extended both arms as if he were a man on a cross. "Easter, you know, Christ, Jesus Christ!" Something about the similarity or universality of words got through to her, and she finally flashed acknowledgment. The man left, apparently having made his point.
At the exact moment of the American left, a German tourist poked his head in the door and and demanded: "Guten Morgen! Haben Sie Espresso?"
The French proprietress just rolled her eyes in acquiescence.
I hate Sarah Jessica Parker, Robin Williams, Tim Robbins, Susan Saradon, the BJ Hunnicut guy, brussel sprouts, the Boston Red Sox, commies and well, lawyers.
6 comments:
Which one is the alleged rabbit who gets away with murder?
That's who I vote for.
Bunny Lebowski for a thousand dollars, Alex.
"I'll suck your cock for a thousand dollars. Brant can't watch, though, or he has to pay $50."
"I'm just gonna go find a cash machine."
Confession time.
Probably the most ruthless thing I ever did to another fellow American happened on Easter.
The time and place: a small village in Alsace-Lorraine, the exact name of which escapes me at present. The year must have been 1991 or 1992.
We, the self-styled "Toxic Trio", comprising an attractive woman and two admirers were sitting at a small cafe, nursing a previous evening's hangover. We conversed in a mixture of German and English as were were wont to do, though this particular cafe had a definite French vibe going and the proprietress spoke only French.
An older American gentleman entered the cafe and rather loudly ordered coffee and a couple of breakfast rolls. He took a seat in an opposite corner. We continued our own muted conversation, not wishing to give away our identities.
The man finished his coffee and on his way out he paused and, looking at the woman behind the counter, wished her (in English) "Happy Easter!" She gave him a blank stare in return. The man tried again but lacking the word for Easter in French, he again got no where. Now that's where one of the Toxic Trio could have intervened and offered some help. But we sat back, amused.
The man resorted to hand gestures: raising both hands and arms up against his head, he feigned "rabbit ears" and said to the woman: You know, "Easter, Easter Bunny!?" Again she drew a blank. The exasperated man did a hop, which added nothing to his impression.
Frustrated, the man dropped his secular interpretation and instead extended both arms as if he were a man on a cross.
"Easter, you know, Christ, Jesus Christ!"
Something about the similarity or universality of words got through to her, and she finally flashed acknowledgment. The man left, apparently having made his point.
At the exact moment of the American left, a German tourist poked his head in the door and and demanded: "Guten Morgen! Haben Sie Espresso?"
The French proprietress just rolled her eyes in acquiescence.
"At the exact moment of the American left, a German tourist poked his head in the door and and demanded: "Guten Morgen! Haben Sie Espresso?""
Mit cream?
au lait!
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