A favourite joke from Punch (during my '70s childhood) - England's leading humorous magazine for over a century, but now alas defunct. I have been reminded of this by Leah's gratuitous use of the term "castration anxiety" (most recently here).
It was in fact a cartoon, but I have been unable to find it on the Internet.
Another oddity which helped to fix this in my young mind (apart from the fact that it's very funny.... and depressingly appropriate to me) is that I once saw it reprinted in a Polish newspaper - but the caption, instead of being a single pithy sentence (or three), ran to a short paragraph. Is Polish a hopelessly verbose language? Or had they changed or elaborated the story quite beyond recognition? I never found out.
Anyway, the joke:
One of the Sultan's most gorgeous concubines, clad only in skimpy, diaphanous silks, is lounging provocatively on a divan, idly trying to seduce the rotund attendant who stands nearby holding an enormous ostrich feather fan. He is quite unmoved by all her charms.
Peeved, she taunts him: "What's the matter with you, Omar? Have you no ambition? Do you want to be a eunuch all your life?"
Yes, that one's always had rather too deep a resonance with me - particularly now that the possibility of a 'straight' job is hovering over me (sword-of-Damocles-like) for the first time in several years; particularly now that I am once again mired in doubt, hesitation, excessive caution about making a move on the woman I currently adore. "What's the matter with you, Froog? Have you no ambition?"
7 comments:
Hee hee (on the joke, not on your current state of miredom).
Love it.
I recall you telling me this joke some twenty years ago.
If you'll forgive me for saying so, sir, I think that your difficulty with the ladies used to come from excess of affection rather than inadequacy of libido. You too easily began to look on a girl as your sister. Perhaps if you had known a sister of your own you would have been a little less reverential of the female.
It seems that there is a lady you like very much at the moment. Please tell her how you feel and ask her out. I'd wager she'll say yes.
snopes! such fun to get a historical perspective on this. so glad you pop in.
and I agree with you, again!! really, who are you?
and froog, funny story.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Snopes, old boy. I am just waiting for an opportune moment.
Oh, so much fun.
Ask her out ask her out.
and then let us know what happens.
(Re Snopes' comment, I have been accused of the same thing)
HiK, you come a little late to this one.
I am still hung up on the same lady. I have still failed to ask her out. That's about as much as you're going to get from me for now, and probably ever.
This blog is primarily about what goes on in my head rather than what actually goes on in my life.
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