Dearest Rachel –
You might remember the “Dirty Knife Sketch” from Monty Python’s Flying Circus (honestly, this is one of those things where I’m going to have such a hard time finding a ‘Megumi’ with a comparable sense of humor to yours. Between these guys and the Three Stooges, you were such a rare bird in terms of the material you went to for a laugh; it was one of those things that caused me to claim you were more ‘guy’ than ‘chick’ in spirit. But that’s a whole other topic). Not so much for the ironically played-up punchline, at least not in this case, but for the admonition given by Michael Palin’s head waiter to John Cleese’s homicidal chef; “Mongo! Never… kill… a customer.”
To borrow a bit of British understatement, that’s good advice for anyone in a retail field. But how about insulting your customers? Is that acceptable?
I mention this because, upon wandering about the ship when we first got aboard, I stopped into the nearest washroom for a moment of relief, and found myself confronted with this mural:
After a moment of shock – I mean, who does this sort of thing? – I took it in stride. Besides, even if I was offended by it, what am I going to do? When nature calls, there’s no time to be picky. Besides, the place was spotlessly clean, despite most likely having been used by hundreds of guests over the course of the previous week; who am I to complain about a little good-natured ribbing about a certain part most males tend to be a bit sensitive about from time to time?
But the wild thing about this was, as I proceeded about the ship throughout the week, this sort of artwork was the rule, and not the exception:
…and I couldn’t help but wonder whether this was a good idea, to tease us guys about our manhood at this vulnerable moment.
I kid, of course; we can take a joke about it – or at least, we’re willing to pretend we can. It would be unmanly to do otherwise, to be honest. At least, we can assume it’s not directly aimed at us, personally, since each mural covers all of the stalls. Additionally, it was there before we got there, and will remain there long after we’re gone – from the room, and the ship in general. So it’s not the insult it might look like at first glance.
When I pointed this out to Lars, he actually found one of the images shown here that I couldn’t locate (the cow tilting its head and musing “umm… okay?”). He did wonder as to what might be in the ladies’ room, but I pointed out there wouldn’t be such a space there, as it would just be a collection of private stalls – which, even in our rooms, don’t contain posters with such mockery.
Besides, what is there of yours to make fun of, anyway? And would you ladies be able to take it if they tried? Well, you would find it funny, I suppose, but I’m not sure about everyone. Still, it’s fun to imagine the reaction if you were treated the same way we were here. Would the cruise line learn not to insult their customers if they did so to women as they did to us guys?
Feel free to ponder that while you keep an eye on me, honey. Oh, and wish me luck; I expect I’ll be needing it.
Letters to Rachel 