Show Us Your Legs

“Show us your legs!” I said

And he turned around.

I couldn’t believe it, I was only thinking of him the day before.

Last Sunday while doing the bay run, I bumped into a retired restaurant owner I hadn’t seen in ages.

“G’day Peter!” I said extending my hand.

“Wow! You remember my name, MATE” he said with a big cheeky grin

It’s an old joke.

When I first met Peter, I told him, “Every Greek I know is either Peter, Nick, or Theo.”

“And every Aussie I know is ‘mate’!” he shot back smiling

“That’s because it’s easy to spell” I said

We clicked immediately.

Not long after we met, the Australian Meat and Livestock Corporation ran a massive ad campaign promoting lamb chops for Australia Day.

The basic cut and thrust of their ads suggested our lamb chops were the best in the world.

So ‘Pete the Greek’ decided to run his own campaign and put a big billboard out the front of his restaurant…

“My legs are better than your chops!”

It was a huge success.

Not only did the locals turn up in droves to devour his fourteen hour, slow cooked, legs of lamb but they dug his humour too!

And it stuck. Up until he sold the business, passers-by loved shouting out, “Hey Pete, show us your legs!”

It was just good old-fashioned banter.

As a young boy, there were only two cuisines – chinese and fish’n’chips.

But thanks to Pete and all his immigrant friends, the menu of choices has exploded.

But there’s another reason I often think of Peter around Australia Day. In an age when we’re almost crippled with political correctness, we’ve become so rigid around what’s the right and wrong thing to say.

Consequently, banter is now too high risk for some people. It’s not worth the tremble, and understandably so.

And let me make it very clear what banter isn’t (in my opinion). It’s not disrespectful or smutty and it most certainly shouldn’t be used to put people down.

It’s not sarcasm either. The lowest form of wit.

Good banter should lift the other person and make them feel good.

They should feel the smile in your voice without you smiling.

Most of all, it says, “I like you and I enjoy your company” without actually saying it.

It’s like baking someone a cake. It’s just a nice, light-hearted way of acknowledging a friendship. My favourite.

There’s a growing movement of people who disagree with Australia Day.

Their thesis is it divides and discriminates, apparently.

Getting rid of Australia Day would have the same effect as keeping it only annoy a different group of people.

Good banter is the reverse of all that. It unites and connects people in a fun loving way. It doesn’t discriminate.

It’s just as healthy as Pete’s legs on Australia Day…and every other day.

Have a wonderful day and may all your lights be green for 2023!

Adam

Did you enjoy that? Why not ‘Join The Herd’ and receive my weekly Moowsletter every Saturday at 12pm. Just click on the green sticker to your right.

Thanks for dropping by.