Of all the gin joints...

So last night (Thursday for me) I really felt like going out and having a beer. Nothing major, just to go chill and maybe read and people watch and drink a good beer. It was pretty frickin' cold, so I didn't feel like wandering around all over the place, and was trying to think of where to go, when I remembered that there was a place near me that looked pretty low key so I decdided to go check it out.

I get there and walk inside and immediately sense that something is amiss, mainly because I don't see a bar, only a middle-aged woman sitting at a desk in what appears to be some kind of lobby. I think she senses my confusion and so she asks, "Can I help you hon?" I explain that I had been looking for a place to get a drink and had just wanted to check this place out.

Me: "So, um, what is this place?"

Lady: "Oh, its a brothel"

Me: "(deep swallow), um, a what?"

Lady (who must have thought I was either some kind of moron or a nice, pure and innocent young man, or both. Personally, I'd like to think I'm neither): "You know, a brothel, you know what that is right?"

Me: "Of course! I mean not of course, but, well, yeah, I know what it is"

Lady: "So can I help you with anything?"

Me: "Uh, no thanks, I think I'll have to pass"

Lady: "Are you sure? If you'd like you can take a look at our services and meet some of the girls in case you see someone you like or would like to come back."

Me: "Well that's very kind of you, but no thanks" [Exit stage left]

I feel like I should explain that prostitution (and in turn brothels) are legal in the state of Victoria, in which Melbourne is located. This is a fact I was aware of. Despite that, I never would have expected to wander into a brothel in the middle of super-Jewish suburbia. Not that I think Jews don't dig on brothels, I'm sure there are plenty who do, but I generally think of brothels as kind of being on the outskirts of places, not around the corner from where I do my laundry.

I never did get my beer that night. When I got home though, out of curiosity (seriously, it was only curiosity...really!!) I decided to see if this place had a web page, again showing my naivite by thinking they wouldn't, but lo and behold (or maybe in this case ho and belold?) they do. So if you are interested (only out of curiosity of course, and there is nothing explicit unless you consider the very idea of prostitution explicit) check out: www.club859.com.au and you can see what I saw (they have pictures of the outside and the lobby).

Thats my story.