Good Vacations, King of Wood!

08.07.2013

Right now, we are in the middle of the "summer sale" period in France. My step mother found some great deals on children clothes and came by with gifts for my son. Including a T-shirt with a surf board and a map of California that reads "Good Vacations". I couldn't help but cringe. Good Vacations? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Even Google Translate can come up with "Happy Holidays" as a translation for "Bonnes Vacances"! Of course, it would make more sense to have Santa and Rudolf next to that instead of the surf board, but at least it would be a proper English phrase.

When all is said and done, I really don't want my son to wear a shirt that will make me want to yell "Have a good effin' vacation, dummmass" every time I see it. However, I have to confess I am not completely innocent of the gibberish T-shirt buy. This winter, I did get a shirt for my poor baby from the same shop: it had a very cute picture of a bear... and read "King of Wood". I also cringed a little, but the bear was so cute! Surely everyone realizes he is the king of the woods!

The "Good Vacations" shirt does not have the cute bear factor, and it opened my eyes to the obvious: Carter's, I miss you!!!! French kids stores have nothing on you! Also, I spent seven years in the US doing my best to avoid Faux French restaurants with their grammatically foul menus and tomato-sauce blanquette dishes. I think it's time to enforce a new behaviour: Oy with the Engrish T-Shirts already!