Thursday, July 24, 2008

I Need a Mister

So the other day, I e-mailed a freelancer to see if he wanted some work. He lives in California, and thrives on impossibly hot weather. Yes, he replied, he wanted the work, but he needed a little bit more time, as he and his family were headed off on vacation in Palm Springs. “It’s going to be hot, really hot,” he wrote, “but there are lots of swimming pools and misters.”

The heat here must have gotten to me, because it took me a bit to figure out what he meant. Misters? Men make things cool? I had this picture of Venetian gondolier-like men, in their stripey outfits, rushing hither and fro, fanning the good people of Palm Springs. The image made me laugh. Then I got it. Oh. Mist. Water. It’s not stripey men—it’s water.”

I wrote back the freelancer, granting the extra time. By way of conversation, I added, “It’s hot here, too. I think I’ll need a mister.”

This is what I got back from him:

So when you said you might need a “mister,” I wasn’t sure what you meant. Was that some East Coast way of referring to a date (I need a date)? Then I realized I had said there are “misters” in Palm Springs . So I didn't know if you were saying it would be hot in Boston, too, or you were making a play on words. In any case, it gave me five minutes of amusement, which is always nice.

Yes, amusement is nice.

12 comments:

dive said...

Damn I need a Ms!

Andraste said...

I need a slip 'n slide.

Take that whichever way it works.

Scout said...

And when you're communicating by email, it can get even more confusing. Funny.

Unknown said...

What about misterers, are they the guys that fix misters?

Old Knudsen said...

I need a hit and miss........piss.

Anonymous said...

I need a mister too - both types :-)

Anonymous said...

1. Go into your utility closet.
2. Hunt up your iron and take hold of the brightly colored plastic cylinder with the lever that's sitting next to it.
3. Rotate the cylinder so the lever points away from your face and snugs into the palm of your hand.
4. Close your eyes and imagine the utility closet is a five star hotel room. That musty smell is from the used towel you just stole from the hotel's health spa because you were too busy imagining things about your masseuse.
4. Operate the lever.
5. Voi la! Mister. Take that whichever way it works.

The Hangar Queen said...

Ha...Misters is it? Five minutes of an Irish Summer would cure ya of that.

Welcome back missus.You were mist.

zirelda said...

LOL! Love it Sassy. I have a mister in my backyard and can be found under it on a hot day. :)

zirelda said...

By the way, I missed you.

Around My Kitchen Table said...

Luckily I have a perfectly adequate mister - not too gushing and he doesn't dribble!

Andraste said...

Got an idea. E-mail me.