In a Homeric Greek reading group I go to, there are always three or four times as many women present as men. Today, for example, 12 women and three men were there. One of the three men is an elderly gentleman who studied Greek at his private boys' boarding school in a decade that has long since been swallowed by the mists of time.
In one of our many many diversions from the topic at hand, we all got to talking about which of Homer's characters we'd like to be seated next to at a dinner party. After a few people had mentioned their favourite fighters, this gentleman spoke up.
"None of us would be seated next to any of these heros! A proper dinner party seating arrangement is always male female male female and so on."
"Yes, and most of us here are female," replied the person who'd posed the question in the first place.
The elderly gentleman looked around the room slowly, as though seeing us all for the first time. Gradually his face took on a look of genuine surprise. I think all these months he must have been sitting there dreaming he was back in his schoolboy days, and hadn't for a moment realised that he was surrounded by women! who are reading! Greek!
Poor man. I hope his heart can stand the shock.
Friday, March 24, 2006
I didn't think I was so androgynous
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3 Comments:
Hee hee hee! You tell such funny stories.
Thanks, NK.
Sometimes I worry that maybe no one else shares my sense of humour and I'm sitting giggling to myself in my little corner of the internet. Glad to see that isn't the case :)
Definitely not! I'm here giggling, too, though I don't always comment. I just loved this one, though.
Talk to me! (You know you want to!)