Gentle what?
Brantford, ON, March 2009
You can't help but smile at the irony of the name attached to this dimly lit, run-down building hard by the tracks that houses a business that many would define as questionable. I've met many gentlemen in my life, and I'm willing to bet few, if any, of them would darken the doorway of a place like this.
But who am I to judge others' language choices? Folks who choose this line of work toss around words like "classy" and "discreet" as well, and no one seems to pay them much notice.
Still, when these "establishments" close up shop for good, few of us lament their passing. And as my train pulls out of the station, I'm perfectly content to leave this one behind as well.
Your turn: Oxymoronic language on signs. Please discuss.
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3 comments:
On a completely different note.... or perhaps not.....
When I was on my Ob/Gyn rotation in medical school, I had a patient in to deliver her second child. We had to do an "induction" as she was past her due date and had other complications. I was explaining the procedure to her when she stopped me... and patting my hand she said...
"Honey, I know all about how this works.... my doctor had to "SEDUCE" my labor with my first baby too!"
At that point I politely excused myself and left the room quickly... before literally falling in the floor laughing. I always have wondered if that first obstetrician ever knew what TYPE of service he had performed for this lady.
Oh, I'm not even a doctor and I'm about to fall out of this chair at srp's comment.
Every time I see a sign for a place like this I flash back to 1998 when I was working a contract gig at UNC-Chapel Hill. My office mate and I used to frequent a restaurant down the block that looked out on West Franklin Street, and directly across the street was a sign that read (I am not making this up):
"University Massage"
"Entrance in Rear"
Stranger than fiction i tell ya. I wish I'd taken a picture. But the place is gone now. Opportunity lost.
I did however manage to capture the sign in front of "Robert's Wholesale Body Parts". Seems I might have posted it in a TP from long ago. Yes! And here it is
I wish I'd taken a photo of a "gentleman's club" I saw in Gulf-Coast Florida - it was a house by the side of the road, aluminum siding and a gravel parking lot, beer signs and all.
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