A colleague wore red pants to work yesterday. Another colleague and I were teasing him, and the second colleague said, “you know, ‘the Man in Red Pants’ sounds like a character who would have been important in the Civil War, like the Scarlet Pimpernel or something like that. Andrew, you should make up a poem about that. A limerick.”
So I did.
There once was The Man in Red Pants
who smuggled ex-slaves off to France,
where his radical views
gave Paris the blues,
and reggae, jazz, hip-hop, and trance.
This puts me in mind of one of my prep school English teachers who regularly wore fantastic (in all senses of the word) and outlandish pants. He had a whole collection of them like: neon yellow based Madras plaid (with pink, green and a little blue in the plaid), Green based ones with giraffes and other jungle animals, and I think there was a pair of pink based ones maybe with polka-dots (hmmm…? memory slipping – thought I’d never forget those after 6 semesters in his classes!) All this and still absolutely within dress code!
Long Live Wacky Pants!
This puts me in mind of one of my prep school English teachers who regularly wore fantastic (in all senses of the word) and outlandish pants. He had a whole collection of them like: neon yellow based Madras plaid (with pink, green and a little blue in the plaid), Green based ones with giraffes and other jungle animals, and I think there was a pair of pink based ones maybe with polka-dots (hmmm…? memory slipping – thought I’d never forget those after 6 semesters in his classes!) All this and still absolutely within dress code!
Long Live Wacky Pants!
Good Point…
Now THAT is a good point.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of teasing. I don’t recall the moment as being anything but good-natured, and so it was easy to join a senior colleague in the moment. It’s also harder to tell a colleague to stop teasing another colleague.
But you’re probably right. I’ll try to modify my actions appropriately in the future.
Re: Huh?
But you were teasing him.
You proudly wear your utilikilt (as you should) hoping to challenge people’s conceptions of what is appropriate, but at any school (where teasing is always commonplace), is it cool to tease someone for what they wore?
Re: Huh?
My math is not so good, though…
A golfer oft wore bright red pants
when walking the links off in France,
and when he was done
he’d got twelve holes-in-one,
six birdies, a new car and a manse.
Or how about…
There once was a man in red pants,
who wanted his lady to dance.
He wooed with panache,
and chocolate ganache,
and won her consent at first glance.
Re: Huh?
Or how about…
There once was a guy in a kilt
whose critic oft nagged him with guilt
for making a rhyme
apropos at the time—
asking tears for some milk that was spilt.
Re: Huh?
Fine…
A fine gentleman in red pants
oft invited his lady to dance.
They cha-cha’ed with grace
all over the place,
and won tango contests in France.
or how about…
a golfer oft wore bright red pants
when walking the links off in France,
and when he was done
he’d got twelve holes-in-one,
seven birdies, a new car and a manse.
Is that better?
Re: Huh?
I’m not intending to make fun of him.
I’m intending to honor him.
After all, the guy did manage to liberate slaves, and bring black music to Europe. What more do you want?
Huh?
You’ll make fun of somebody for wearing red pants, yet you will wear a utilikilt?
Huh?
You’ll make fun of somebody for wearing red pants, yet you will wear a utilikilt?
Re: Huh?
I’m not intending to make fun of him.
I’m intending to honor him.
After all, the guy did manage to liberate slaves, and bring black music to Europe. What more do you want?
Re: Huh?
Fine…
A fine gentleman in red pants
oft invited his lady to dance.
They cha-cha’ed with grace
all over the place,
and won tango contests in France.
or how about…
a golfer oft wore bright red pants
when walking the links off in France,
and when he was done
he’d got twelve holes-in-one,
seven birdies, a new car and a manse.
Is that better?
Re: Huh?
Or how about…
There once was a guy in a kilt
whose critic oft nagged him with guilt
for making a rhyme
apropos at the time—
asking tears for some milk that was spilt.
Re: Huh?
My math is not so good, though…
A golfer oft wore bright red pants
when walking the links off in France,
and when he was done
he’d got twelve holes-in-one,
six birdies, a new car and a manse.
Or how about…
There once was a man in red pants,
who wanted his lady to dance.
He wooed with panache,
and chocolate ganache,
and won her consent at first glance.
Re: Huh?
But you were teasing him.
You proudly wear your utilikilt (as you should) hoping to challenge people’s conceptions of what is appropriate, but at any school (where teasing is always commonplace), is it cool to tease someone for what they wore?
Good Point…
Now THAT is a good point.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of teasing. I don’t recall the moment as being anything but good-natured, and so it was easy to join a senior colleague in the moment. It’s also harder to tell a colleague to stop teasing another colleague.
But you’re probably right. I’ll try to modify my actions appropriately in the future.
hee!
hee!