Naughty Times Two

There’s the bad naughty and the lighter cheeky naught. I witnessed both last night.

Walking home alone from the Souke, came the first naughty. Bad! Given there is little touching in public with the opposite gender (holding hands, hugging), and the firm grip the man had on the woman in the abaya, I knew something was askew. As the plain clothed officer was putting the lady into the van with flashing lights, my heart started beating faster. I know getting arrested here is not a good thing!  I really need to work on a more neutral facial expression because the Pilipino man who was walking by asked me, “You are scared huh?” I asked what happened. He told me two women went running by before Maghrib (4^th prayer time).  He then told me the obvious; “Maybe they do something bad.” While I see armed guards daily, this was my first experience with serious lawful misbehaviour. It was disturbing.

The second naughty happened a few minutes later. Coming onto the compound, the armed guard was jabbering at me. I think they really like Glenn and I partially because we wave, always offer a salutation, and most probably because of the Crispy Crème Donuts we bought for them the other night. Regardless, they smile and practice their broken English repeating the words, “Welcome, welcome!” While the guard was talking Arabic to me, I asked the security man what he was saying. The young security fellow smiled and said, “He wants you to kiss me.” Very naughty! I was laughing inside however; in my most dignified manner I spoke a firm “No” and walked away.

Is there a simple lesson here? Two times naughty doesn’t add up!