# What is a "real estate novelist"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 30, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-real-estate-novelist/580297 "2011-04-30T16:54:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-real-estate-novelist/580297/21 "2011-05-03T20:15:18Z")
I always thought the “waitress is practicing politics” meant she had to keep the men interested enough to leave big tips without actually encouraging them to complete the passes they keep making at her. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-real-estate-novelist/580297/22 "2011-05-03T20:21:44Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Pfft. I would SO Bomb-ay… With all the alcophilophobia in America, I’d get killed before I even reached there. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-real-estate-novelist/580297/23 "2011-05-03T20:26:52Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I always thought the “waitress is practicing politics” meant she had to keep the men interested enough to leave big tips without actually encouraging them to complete the passes they keep making at her. This is supported by the videos ([both](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou0Tk_Bl3Bs) [versions](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxEPV4kolz0)) in which the waitress is shown fending off amorous advances. ---
**Author:** ![VernWinterbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c67d28/32.png) [@VernWinterbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VernWinterbottom)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-real-estate-novelist/580297/24 "2011-05-04T00:55:09Z")
I always thought it was as simple as writing more fiction than fact in his real estate listings. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-real-estate-novelist/580297/25 "2011-05-04T01:19:44Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > That’s probably why he’s sitting beside Davey, who’s still in the navy, and probably will be for life. Obviously he’s gay too. I’ve always made that connection. > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I always thought the “waitress is practicing politics” meant she had to keep the men interested enough to leave big tips without actually encouraging them to complete the passes they keep making at her. Not being very polite when refusing to serve them another drink when they can’t stand up anymore? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-real-estate-novelist/580297/26 "2011-05-04T13:11:28Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I always thought the “waitress is practicing politics” meant she had to keep the men interested enough to leave big tips without actually encouraging them to complete the passes they keep making at her. I thought it was sort of a double entendre. She’s “practicing politics” by trying to ward off advances but not discourage tips and she’s probably a law or poly-sci student. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-real-estate-novelist/580297/27 "2011-05-04T14:32:04Z")
I’ve always wondered about the odd internal rhyme scheme of the verses. The first verse is line seven (But it’s sad and it’s sweeet/And I knew it complete). The second and third are line three (And he’s quick with a joke/or a light of your smoke; And he’s talking to Davy/Who’s still in the Navy), and the last verse has them at both three and seven (Cause he knows that it’s me, they’ve been coming to see; And they sit at the bar/And put bread in my jar). ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-real-estate-novelist/580297/28 "2011-05-04T14:34:03Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I’ve always wondered about the odd internal rhyme scheme of the verses. The first verse is line seven (But it’s sad and it’s sweeet/And I knew it complete). The second and third are line three (And he’s quick with a joke/or a light of your smoke; And he’s talking to Davy/Who’s still in the Navy), and the last verse has them at both three and seven (Cause he knows that it’s me, they’ve been coming to see; And they sit at the bar/And put bread in my jar). Billy himself has said the song is, essentially, an extended limerick. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-real-estate-novelist/580297/29 "2011-05-04T14:40:38Z")
[Elton & Billy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkQc984DWAA&feature=related), two of the world’s best piano men, do a duet. ---
**Author:** ![fjs1fs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9e8a1a/32.png) [@fjs1fs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fjs1fs)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-real-estate-novelist/580297/30 "2011-05-04T17:01:53Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Quick rundown: during a low point in his life and career, Billy Joel got a job playing piano in a cocktail lounge. Over time, he came to realize that almost all the regulars at this bar (both the customers and the employees) were miserable people who wished they were doing something better with their lives. > > Billy wants to be a rock star, but is stuck singing “Misty” for besotted businessmen. > > “John at the bar” is an actor. Like many actors, he got a job as a bartender, figuring it was only temporary, and that he’d become a star soon. But now, he’s starting to realize he may NEVER make it as an actor, and may be stuck in a mundane job forever. > > Paul is a “real estate novelist,” which means he’s a middle-aged real estate salesman who’s been telling everyone for years about the great novel he plans to write some day (but which he’ll probably never get around to). > > The waitress who’s practicing politics is probably a law student who can’t wait to get her degree and get away from this lousy job. > > Everyone at this bar has big dreams that probably won’t come true. Perhaps the bar might even be a microcosm of the real world! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-real-estate-novelist/580297/31 "2011-05-06T13:59:47Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > This is supported by the videos ([both](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou0Tk_Bl3Bs) [versions](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxEPV4kolz0)) in which the waitress is shown fending off amorous advances. I don’t know what’s funnier–the unintentional cheesey of the first one, or the very intentionally sleezy of the second. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-real-estate-novelist/580297.md?page=1)