Under all these clothes
It is about -5F and I’m waiting with a half-dozen people to board the bus.
You need to know that I’m wearing:
- Black parka, over thick sweater, over suit jacket, over dress shirt, over undershirt.
- Fleece snowpants, over dress slacks, over long underwear.
- Earmuffs over whole-head stocking cap.
- Leather chopper mitts over giant wool felt mittens
- Monstrous snowboots
The man in front of me looks out from under his own parka hood and steps back when he sees me. “Ladies first,” he says.
The man in front if HIM looks back, a little chastened, and steps aside to let me pass. “That’s right. Ladies first. Sorry about that.”
Me, trying to make him feel at ease: “Thanks, that’s nice! It’s kind of hard to tell under all these clothes who’s a lady, I know.”
He (very gallantly, without missing a beat): “Oh no, ma’am. It’s not hard at all.”
It’s one of the most gracious lies I’ve heard in weeks.
Feb 3rd, 2007 at 7:01 pm
And they say chivalry is dead! Pshaw…