Funny HAL Story....sort of...DAM SHIPS

[imsulin]

We were on the April 9 Zuiderdam (GREAT CRUISE!!) and - of course - just HAD to buy the DAM SHIPS T-shirts. The selection available had been picked over and nearly bought by the previous week's cruise, but I finally managed to get a great navy blue one that actually fit! Well, everyone knows that when you get back from a cruise, your clothes are dirty, wrinkled, and need some serious attention! So...I had to go to work on the Monday after the cruise, and (proudly) put on my new DAM SHIPS T-shirt with a pair of capris and drove off to work.

 

Well - I live in a smaller "Conservo-Community" where most people don't travel much, and I've never had so many people stare at my chest!! At work, at lunch, back at work, etc. Anyway, towards the end of the day, a co-worker approached me and said "You know, I don't think it's right that you're wearing a shirt that has a CURSE WORD on it". Trying not to break out in laughter, I had to explain about the shirt and the ships listed on the back. Don't think it did much good, though......on my way home from work, I stopped at the local Wal-Mart and received a couple of similar comments. Geez...you'd think I was wearing some porno shirt!!

 

Anyway, for anyone who's interested, the "curse word" has an N at the end!!!

 

Still wear that shirt!!

[sail7seas]

Funny story. Thanks for sharing.

 

Happy to hear you had a great cruise.

Will you be posting some comments or a review?

Welcome Back.

 

[imsulin]

Hi, Sail!

 

I actually did post a review several weeks ago..it's on the HAL boards somewhere. In it, I said that out of about 28 cruises, this one ranked as one of the very best!! Everything just seemed to go perfectly!!

[ekerr19]

I'd love to hear what part of the country you live in, lol! I've never known "DAM" to be confused with the "other" DAM version...

 

I've used my "DAM" coffee mugs to serve coffee informally on numerous occassions, I never even gave it a thought! The navy blue color of the mug are a perfect match to my everyday Fiesta dinnerware, so I use them frequently. I don't think I am offending anyone... I hope not anyway!

[CathyCanada]

I was at a HAL seminar in Toronto on Wednesday and they were giving away some DAM hats as prizes. It was the first time I had seen them and it gave us all a chuckle.

 

Cathy

[oliviaonthe beach]

Your cute story made me realize something about my upcoming cruise with my six year old son. He is at that age where he is infatuated with learning the "bad" words and of course he is not permitted to say them intentionally. Unfortunately, we live near a major road called Dam Neck Rd. He loves it when we get to drive on this road because he is allowed to read the street signs to us. He always emphasizes the word DAM to get a rise out of us and never misses an intersection with street signs. I guess I better be prepared for him to have a heyday with all the "DAMS" he'll be encountering on the ZuiderDAM in July!

[bcc99]

I live in a smaller "Conservo-Community" where most people don't travel much

 

Why, Imsulin...I had no idea that you were from Indiana, too! :p

 

Unfortunately for the super-sensitive folks in the world, I will not be referring to the ship as the Zuiderdarn. It just doesn't have the same panache. (Language experts--what's the grammatical term for words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings?)

[EmilyM]

Your cute story made me realize something about my upcoming cruise with my six year old son. He is at that age where he is infatuated with learning the "bad" words and of course he is not permitted to say them intentionally. Unfortunately, we live near a major road called Dam Neck Rd. He loves it when we get to drive on this road because he is allowed to read the street signs to us. He always emphasizes the word DAM to get a rise out of us and never misses an intersection with street signs. I guess I better be prepared for him to have a heyday with all the "DAMS" he'll be encountering on the ZuiderDAM in July!

 

Olivia, I live near Dam Neck, too! When I say near, I mean within two miles. Dam Neck makes me laugh as well -- that is such a cute story about your little boy. What a character! My mom still hates it when I say Norfolk to her. She just doesn't think her little girl should use that sort of language! To appease her, I've adopted a southern accent when I say it now, even though I don't have a southern accent in any other way. I say Naw-fick instead.

 

I am also curious about the OP's hometown! It sounds so quaint!

[dakrewser]

Why, Imsulin...I had no idea that you were from Indiana, too! :p

 

Unfortunately for the super-sensitive folks in the world, I will not be referring to the ship as the Zuiderdarn. It just doesn't have the same panache. (Language experts--what's the grammatical term for words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings?)

 

Homophones. Two words that sound alike but have different meanings. They may, or may not, be spelled the same: trunk an elephant's appendage and trunk a large container; also dear and deer. When they are also spelled the same they're often called homonyms.

[cruznon]

I just want to get one of those aprons that say "Dam Good Cook!" :)

[bcc99]

Homophones. Two words that sound alike but have different meanings. They may, or may not, be spelled the same: trunk an elephant's appendage and trunk a large container; also dear and deer. When they are also spelled the same they're often called homonyms.

 

Thanks, Dave! I can just imagine the people in imsulin's hometown protesting the presence of homophones in their community... :rolleyes:

[dakrewser]

Thanks, Dave! I can just imagine the people in imsulin's hometown protesting the presence of homophones in their community... :rolleyes:

 

I thought of many good replies to this, none of which would have lasted out the day before being 86'd!

[imsulin]

Well, ahem, er..I live in a state that begins with an "A", and it's not Alaska or Arizona!! I live near a major WAR EAGLE University, but it's quite obvious that I'm not originally from this neck of the woods! Dam it all, anyway!!

[obriendan]

Following up on the pronunciation of Norfolk: Once I was speaking to a lady about accent and pronunciation. Her native language was spanish rather then english. She related her embarassment about giving a lecture in english on folklore. At the end of the lecture someone pointed out that her pronunciation of folklore was not exactly right!

[Copper10-8]

Funny story! I'm wearing my DAM hat all the time but around here, nobody looks twice. Hey, can you tell me who the captain on the Zuiderdam was? I'm trying to find out where Frans Consen is hanging out nowadays

 

First time here for me

 

Take care and be safe

[oliviaonthe beach]

Emily M,

We must be neighbors. Are you enjoying the wonderful weather today????? I teach at the high school closest to Dam Neck Rd. and most/many of my students are navy "brats" who can't believe how Norfolk is actually supposed to be pronounced. They laugh every time I say it. My grandfather was from Kentucky and he would visit us. His pronunciation choice was Nor-fork. Go figure!

[Cerinda]

Copper,

 

In March, Captain Consen was "aboard the beautiful and elegant ms Ryndam," and you should have heard him roll those Rrrrrrs!

[Copper10-8]

Thanks for the info, Cerinda! Glad to hear he's still rolling those "rrrrrrrrrr's" on the RRRRRRRyndam! Great guy and my favorite HAL Captain, outstanding ambassador!