Friday, April 29, 2005

Schoolteachers

I just returned from a 2+ week sailing road trip. The first week was spent at one of Rick White's Laser sailing seminars in Key Largo. This is billed as "an intensive race-training camp" - and it sure was intensive. Most days we spent 5 to 6 hours on the water in 10-20 knots of wind doing drill after drill to improve our racing skills. One day was spent entirely on mark-rounding. Another day we did nothing but starting drills.

Rick himself has over 30 years of experience in various classes of boats but is mainly known as a catamaran sailor. The course is so well designed that, although he worked us hard, I enjoyed every minute of it. Rick told us a story toward the end of the course that explained his approach.

Warning. Viewer Advisory. If you are an extreme feminist, of a sensitive nature or despise old men who tell politically incorrect stories that demean the role of women, then read no further.

This is the story. An entrepreneur somehow acquired a 3-storey building and was wondering how to use it to run a business. He decided to turn it into a brothel. On the first floor his staff were all models; on the second floor his ladies were housewives (anyone remember Belle du Jour); and the top floor's service providers were all schoolteachers.

After a few months a friend asked him which group of women was the most successful for him in his business.

"Oh, the teachers are the most popular by far," he replied.

"Why is that?" his friend asked.

"Well the models were too prissy for most customers...'Mind my hair'....'Don't mess up my nails'.....it just didn't work out".

"And the housewives were too bossy....'Hang your pants there'.....'Put your shirt there'...it really discouraged the customers".

"But the schoolteachers told their clients 'We're going to do this...and then we're going to do that...and then that....and we're going to keep doing it and doing it until we get it right".

I don't know if that's a great formula for running a brothel. But it certainly made for a rewarding sailing experience.

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