One of our lovely lady friends is back in town for a while, having managed to land a writing grant to fund an extended holiday for herself.
She is living up to the 'aspiring writer' image by carrying a Moleskin notebook with her everywhere she goes and regularly jotting down observations or snatches of her companions' conversation. This does rather crank up the pressure on us to be continuously witty and insightful in our utterances.
Yesterday afternoon, she turned to The Choirboy and commented, "You said something really good the other day. What was it now? [Consults notebook] Oh yes, here it is. You said: 'Nationalism is like the measles - mainly an infantile disease.' That's brilliant."
The Choirboy modestly responded: "I cannot tell a lie. I think it was Einstein that actually said that. I was just quoting him. The way I probably would have put it myself is, 'Nationalism is GAY!'"
(Please forgive my dear friend his occasional moments of un-PC-ness. He is a very kind and tolerant person, and means no disrespect to our brothers and sisters of the homosexual persuasion. But he is addicted to the use of the word 'gay' as a term of general, good-natured derogation. I have tried to discourage him, but it's a deeply ingrained habit. It's an Irish thing, apparently.)
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