Mr. Waffle met a smorgasbord of international colleagues for coffee the other day.
Male Spanish colleague: So I have this Finnish woman working for me and she said to me “My co-worker Giovanni is sexually harassing meâ€. I asked what he was doing and she replied “Every morning he says ‘ciao bella’ to me; and he also says my legs look nice when I’m wearing a skirtâ€.
Female Italian colleague: But that’s appalling, he was just being a normal Italian man.
Mr. Waffle: So what did you do?
Male Spanish colleague: Well, I talked to Giovanni and told him to stop complimenting her on her legs and then I asked her to stop wearing such short skirts.
Female English colleague: That’s right, blame the victim.
Male French colleague: But that’s appalling.
Female English colleague smiles warmly at him.
Male French colleague: Seeing women in short skirts is one of the great joys of Summer.
Mr. Waffle had a break from all that today though and he brought the Princess in to show her round my office and we lunched together and then he took her off and then when I came home, I played with the kiddies while he put the finishing touches to dinner. I have tasted 1950s fatherhood and I like it.
Wait, go slower! {Writes furiously} Finnish women no compliment. Italian women yes compliment. English women no compliment…..
But seriously, Giovanni should have known better. The proper thing to say is, “Your legs look nice when you’re wearing a skirt, but I bet they look better without the skirt.”
50s fatherhood: Isn’t that when the man would come home from work, be greeted at the door with a kiss from his loving wife who had spent the day cleaning the house and minding the kids, then ask her what was for dinner?
It’s all very complex, really.