Play Ball!

Take a look at the picture on the right. Go ahead and click on it; it won't bite. Now that you've had a chance to study a larger version of the picture, can you tell me what that guy is wearing on his head? If your answer is "a motorcycle policeman's helmet" you're right and oh so wrong.

One of the things that caught me off guard when I arrived in Jordan was the fact that motorcycle police officers ride around with baseball batting helmets for protection. The first time I saw a police officer perched on the back of his motorcycle wearing a batting helmet, I thought it was a joke. Then I realized that some minor league baseball outfitter in the States probably decided to get rid of surplus helmets at a discount, pulled a fast one and marketed them as motorcycle helmets to the police force in the Jordan.

Every time I see one of those guys riding around in his goofy little helmet, thinking he’s so suave, it makes me want to laugh. I don’t know what’s worse: motorcycle cops that look like they just left batting practice or the other guys who walk around with those Kaiser helmets with back flaps.

Someone here should return the favor and start marketing keffiyehs in the United States as table cloths. Those American consumer saps would probably buy them up at a premium and no one except Arabs would be the wiser.