Black is for waiter

[jerrysfriend]

I was at a Brooks branch yesterday, talking to the manager about some of my experiences with Ernest. I got around to the fact that he invented the forum's informal motto, "Brown is for Farmer," (why don't we get some t-shirts printed up with that phrase printed on them). He thought that was pretty funny and said that it reminded him of a story told by his father, the original manager of the first Brooks in Atlanta. His father had a good customer who always bought brown shoes to wear with his navy and grey suits. When his father questioned the propriety of doing that and asked why he never wore black ones, the man responded: "black shoes are for waiters."
BLACK IS FOR WAITER.

 

[Manton]

HEAR, HEAR.

 

[alchimiste]

There is a huge difference between "black shoes are for waiters" and "black is for waiters".

 

[Manton]

There is a huge difference between "black shoes are for waiters" and "black is for waiters".

Close enough.

 

[alchimiste]

Ethics and honesty are like black suits, you never use them during the day.

 

[Matt]

oh dear god not again

 

[imageWIS]

Must we constantly come back to only two topics on the forum? Have we lost all originality when Black and the One Who's Name I Shant Repeat are the only topics of interest left on the forum? Enough is ENOUGH. Jon.

 

[Manton]

C'mon, guys.  Whatever you think of black suits (or shoes), Mr. Pollock's anecdote is both amusing and relevant to the discussions we've had here.  Give him a little credit.  And (dare I say?) lighten up.  This is not another debate thread (unless someone else turns it into one; it won't be me).  It's just a funny story.  Which I for one enjoyed.  Thanks, Ken.

 

[Buster]

Is it possible to BAN a topic? j, please.
( the story is funny, the rest of the thread, or where it seems to go, well...)

B

 

[Kaga]

deleted

 

[tgfny]

I had a pair of black pants that I bought out at the RL employee store in NJ. Never wore them once, because when I tried them on I felt I looked like a waiter. Was the only piece of black outside of soes and belts that has ever crept into my wardrobe.

 

[LA Guy]

Is it possible to BAN a topic? j, please.
( the story is funny, the rest of the thread, or where it seems to go, well...)

B

Actually, we've already banned one topic, which I will not here mention.

 

[Teacher]

C'mon, guys.  Whatever you think of black suits (or shoes), Mr. Pollock's anecdote is both amusing and relevant to the discussions we've had here.  Give him a little credit.  And (dare I say?) lighten up.  This is not another debate thread (unless someone else turns it into one; it won't be me).  It's just a funny story.  Which I for one enjoyed.  Thanks, Ken.

Really? I challenge you on that sir. *arf arf arf arf.*

Seriously, could someone explain to me -- or provide a good link -- what the hell "brown is for farmer" means? I come around often enough that I suppose I ought to be up on this by now. Thanks a bunch.

Oh, and I second the idea of the T-shirts...or a tie? (Oh, wait....)

 

[Manton]

Ernest is a member who lives in France.  Like George Costanza, he is unemployed and lives with his parents.  He has also been on the dole for something like two years.  Yet thanks to the generosity of French unemployment benefits, he can afford to shop at Hilditch & Key and other fine Paris establishments with some regularity. That is neither here nor there, just background.

Anyway, Ernest is arguably more hidebound and opinionated than even I am.  Once, another member asked for opinions about a brown suit.  (Actually, I think this took place on Ask Andy, not here, but I could be wrong.)  Ernest denounced the wearing of brown suits.  In the back and forth that ensued, his trump card was that "brown is for farmer."  By which I suppose he meant, "Only farmers should wear brown."

Does that square with everyone else's recollection?

 

[aybojs]

Ernest is a member who lives in France. Like George Costanza, he is unemployed and lives with his parents. He has also been on the dole for something like two years. Yet thanks to the generosity of French unemployment benefits, he can afford to shop at Hilditch & Key and other fine Paris establishments with some regularity. That is neither here nor there, just background. Anyway, Ernest is arguably more hidebound and opinionated than even I am. Once, another member asked for opinions about a brown suit. (Actually, I think this took place on Ask Andy, not here, but I could be wrong.) Ernest denounced the wearing of brown suits. In the back and forth that ensued, his trump card was that "brown is for farmer." By which I suppose he meant, "Only farmers should wear brown." Does that square with everyone else's recollection?

You forgot the part where everyone on the board took his catchphrase and, over the next few months and to this date, thoroughly ran it into the ground

.